As home to some of the finer restaurants and cafes in the city, (Des Lys, Epicvre, and Boonna among others) Xinle Lu exudes a chic heat at night time. Expensive coffee, expensive wine, fabulous lighting, ahh modern life. Walking past these places after work and peering in their windows, I could make out two of the more dazzling subspecies of the expat genus: graphic designers with expensive Mac notebooks and European couples who look like they have very very important sex. As I continued my stroll, thinking about great lighting, European sex, and modern life, I peered into a few more shops and saw migrant laborers working to perfect the concrete industrial angles and sleek wood paneling of a few as of yet unnamed boutiques: it seems that Xinle Lu is refashioning itself as a shopping area -- a diet Huaihai Lu of sorts. The Source (158 Xinle Lu), opened on Dec 8th, is two thirds retail outlet and one third art gallery. A 1000-meter-warehouse complex, The Source (and the Kong Gallery on the second floor) is hoping to be more than just a fashion boutique, however, and combines fashion and visual art (and in the future music and film) to serve as a "platform for street culture in China." The space is split on two floors with the first floor a showroom displaying creative limited edition streetwear (from 2k by Gingham) in an atmosphere that blurs the distinction between art proper and fashion. Beyond the glass display cases of club kid t-shirts and soccerball artwork is the centerpiece of the store: a two-storied square column that houses numerous brands and over 100 different styles of footwear from Double Identity, Pointer, and Havaianas. The stairs to the second floor wrap around this glass-encased wooden column and ascending them must be something of a religious experience for sneaker-addicts.
