Lane Crawford is Hong Kong’s most exclusive department store. Famed for its high end fashion and jaw dropping prices, the name has a long association with the city’s rich and famous and is essentially the private tailor to those that live on The Peak.
History of Lane Crawford
Established in 1850 by two Scots by the name of Lane and Crawford, the department store quickly established itself as the supplier of home luxuries to the city’s colonial elite. At first, the store was primarily a ship chandlery, the place to go for all your anchor needs, but over time it broadened its selection to include just about everything, from mustache combs to knitting needles. Over time it would pride itself on bringing London fashion to the then backwater of Hong Kong, where dresses still had to be mail ordered from the mother country.
Shoppers Review of Lane Crawford
Today, as department stores have slowly been muscled out the marketplace, Lane Crawford has moved into focusing on fashion from the international catwalk, although it retains high end home, cosmetics and jewellery departments. Picking and choosing from a reported 160 designers, it is gaining an increasing reputation as an Asian trendsetter in fashion. Alongside established names such as Yves Saint Lauren and Hugo Boss, Lane Crawford has added a wide range of lesser known, more adventurous designers, such as Haider Ackermann and Alexander Wang. Many people in Hong Kong and China consider its catalog release a party event.
It’s fair to say that Lane Crawford has a designer fashion range and jewellery range that would stand up to any shop in London or LA. Unfortunately, so do the prices. This is not the place to find a bargain, with the exception of the summer sales season. It’s also worth noting that Lane Crawford is mainly aimed at a Chinese audience looking to buy international fashion and as a result it doesn’t really promote Asian fashion or fashion designers. For tourists in town looking for some local flavor fashion, try
Shanghai Tang instead.
Where to Find Lane Crawford
You can find the city’s flagship store inside the
IFC Mall. There are also branches in
Pacific Place and
Times Square in Hong Kong and Seasons Place in Beijing.
