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Cosmetics brand Shanghai VIVE (双妹) broke back into Shanghai’s collective consciousness last summer when it re-launched the company in China with its new flagship store in the Fairmont Peace Hotel. Shanghai VIVE may not be your grandmothers’s cosmetics line (although at one point it might have been her brand of choice), but it is now making its name with the city’s younger generation. Launched in Shanghai in 1898, Shanghai VIVE was one of the original Shanghainese brands on the international stage, with its “Radiance Restorative Cream” honored with a gold medal at the 1915 Panama World Expo held in San Francisco. In August 2010, Shanghai Jahwa Company and Fairmont Peace Hotel brought the classic domestic brand back onto shoppers’ radar, after an absence of more than half a century.
Behind the revival of Shanghai VIVE is one charismatic man: the great-grandson of the late Republic of China President Chiang Kai-shek, Demos Yu-bou Chiang. Chiang is the founder of DEM Inc., the company responsible for the overall re-structuring and new strategy and design for the revitalized Shanghai VIVE. The cooperation between Chiang and Shanghai VIVE represents the fusion of two elements of Chinese history, granting a historic touch to the revival of the company. Chiang shares the story of the brand's return to the limelight and how it plans to compete with the current generation of international cosmetic companies. CNNGo: As a company based in Taiwan, how did DEM get involved in Shanghai VIVE's re-launch? Demos Chiang: Taiwan is an important stop for the China market. We have been exposed to Western trends and designs longer than that of mainland China, and yet we still possess deep roots in Chinese culture. One can claim that Taiwan is where the East meets the West and because of this, a lot of DEM China clients come to Taiwan in search of partners who can revamp Chinese elements instead of modernizing them -- this is why we were contacted by the Shanghai VIVE team. CNNGo: What interested you about Shanghai VIVE? Demos Chiang: I am interested in promoting Chinese culture through reconnecting its past values with new desires. The era that Shanghai VIVE wanted to recapture was also an era that is closely linked to my own life.
CNNGo: What is DEM's role in this re-launch? Demos Chiang: DEM was commissioned to do the overall structure and strategy for the re-launch as well as the design work. CNNGo: How can a company from outside Shanghai convey the iconic Shanghai feelings built into this brand? Demos Chiang: The spirit of Shanghai is not about being “Shanghainese," but about being the melting pot of different cultures and being the frontier of Chinese chic. With sharp eyes, our designers' keen sensitivities and a bit of help from the Shanghai VIVE team, we were able to grasp the insight of the spirit of Shanghai. CNNGo: What elements did DEM pick to represent Shanghai? Demos Chiang: In Shanghai in the 1930s there were specific icons that represented fashion, and there were also a lot of mixed materials used to create a rich and luxurious ambiance. We only tried to clean up the richness and make the overall presentation more acceptable to the current market. We did not invent anything new. We only updated an outdated theme. CNNGo: What’s your personal impression of Shanghai today? Demos Chiang: It is a fast growing city and has a tradition of being a fusion of Eastern and Western culture.
CNNGo: Do you have any special ties to Shanghai in the early 20th century? Demos Chiang: Only a personal tie with my great grandmother. CNNGo: Can you describe the Shanghai VIVE in 1920s and 1930s compared to the Shanghai VIVE of today. Demos Chiang: In the 1920s the brand was a representation of women craving to be recognized. In 2011 Shanghai VIVE is a representation of respect for an established female. CNNGo: What’s the biggest design challenge you have faced in pushing a historic cosmetic brand back into the modern market? Demos Chiang: In China, everything is possible with the correct resources, the challenge is to get the decision makers to agree to invest resources in your concept.
CNNGo: Shanghai VIVE is aimed at luxury goods consumers. Why do you think people will buy Shanghai VIVE instead of other established Western brands? Demos Chiang: All cosmetics have similar ingredients -- it is the marketing stories that set them apart and Shanghai VIVE has a story that no foreign brand owns. As long as China's identity continues to grow, which I believe it will for another 10-15 years, Shanghai VIVE will be a player. For more on Shanghai history, read on in our Historic Shanghai column.
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The man behind Shanghai VIVE's revivial: Demos Chiang.Added with the fact that during that time in Chinese history, the Chinese market started to realize and recognize female rights, it made this project very meaningful to me as the brand is really a record of cultural progression in China.
