I finally made it back earlier this week to meet up with Cairn Wu, the owner of this lovely store, and her gorgeous puppy, Curry. Cairn’s story is pretty inspirational: she started learning how to sew when she was 15, and dreamed of launching her own label ever since. She studied Economics at UCLA and became a stockbroker to raise capital, founding the Kaileeni label in 2007. Inspired by vintage pieces, her designs are timeless and a little bit quirky. Alongside her own label, she also stocks hand-selected pieces from around the world and, of course, honey, which is sourced from her husband's farm in Honolulu.
William the Beekeeper seems to be a (depressingly) rare thing in Shanghai. Cairn acknowledged that there is a general reluctance on the part of Chinese to buy home-grown brands, and vintage clothing doesn't attract the same following as it does in the US and Europe. Most of her clientele are either foreigners, or local Chinese who travel internationally.
I fell in love with so many pieces, but as I’m meant to be on a sartorial diet at the moment, I think I’m going to have to limit myself to just one piece!
William the Beekeeper is at 84 Fenyang Road, Former French Concession.
A Bee
Matsuo Basho
Miss G.
Loving the blog, Miss G and this shop makes me want to come to Shanghai from my London comfort zone - no mean feat!
ReplyDeleteBet you go back for the rest of the pieces before too long (and Curry the puppy is too cute!) Miss S x
This place sounds great and what an interesting combo of honey and dresses! Shame to hear not everyone appreciates local brands - personally I like wearing things that people haven't necessarily seen before and don't automatically know the boring mainstream label, what season and how much I paid!
ReplyDeleteIve been before! i love this place. its hard to believe what we are deprived of here when living in shanghai but real organic honey is one of them. everything tastes so artificial here. Miss G, I just discovered your blog. I love it!! do you have an about page?
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