Lu 12.28

A local boutique to get excited about, Lu 12.28 is a showcase for the designs of 27 year old Lu Liu - an afro-haired, silk shorts and sneakers-wearing Beijingren who studied at the famous Parsons school of design and lived in Paris and New York before returning to the Chinese capital to produce her first collection. The small but uncluttered shop, with perhaps two dozen pieces lining one wall, reveals Lu to be a talented fashion designer. From the aforementioned silk shorts (that look like a cross between lingerie and sportswear, but very cool all the same) to puff-ball skirts and super silky white linen t-shirts that fall off the shoulder, it's all well-made and very, well, Lu. The designer is usually present in the shop (‘except when the weather's bad or it's raining') and is perhaps the best example of how to wear her designs. The only problem, and it's one she's aware of, is that the current collection has been made for an Asian physique, hence 50 per cent of the designs look great in theory but are a little snug when tried on. Come back for her autumn winter collection, she advises.

However you may struggle to wait that long. Given the individuality of these pieces and the limited number of them (once she's run out, that's it apparently) you'd have thought she'd charge overconfident, astronomical prices. Instead prices range from around 359RMB for a rara skirt or striped t-shirt to about 1,200RMB for a slinky silver dress. The exception is a beautifully-made, draped long cardigan that's perfect for cool summer evenings and costs a more exclusive 1,699RMB. One word of warning though: wonderful designer that she is, Lu seems a little fickle when it comes to manning the shop (Time Out passed by several times before it was actually open). Generally speaking it's open from 2pm to 10pm daily but she has the occasional Monday off and doesn't like rain (!) so call ahead if you're making a special trip.

SK