Carina Lau is a very famous Chinese actress. She’s married to a very famous Chinese actor, Tony Leung Chiu Wai. I grew up watching their Hong Kong soap operas. And every time I write about them I tell you that they literally look exactly the same now as they did then. Tony Leung is 55. It’s Carina Lau’s birthday today. She is 52 years old. I’m telling you, they look at 55 and 52 the way they did at 25 and 22. Actually, no. They look better now. 

The last time I wrote about Carina and Tony it was back in July. The Oscar Academy released its new list of members and Carina and Tony were invited to join and I was bitching about how long it had taken for that to happen, considering both have international cinema profiles, especially Tony. So it was a pleasant surprise the other day when I was browsing The Hollywood Reporter to see that Carina was called “China’s next big fashion designer”. She debuted her line, Anirac, at Shanghai Fashion Week in November and that fashion show kicked off with scenes from Wong Kar-Wai’s Day Of Being Wild, a film that featured so many Hong Kong pop culture legends, including Tony, and Maggie Cheung, and Andy Lau and… Leslie Cheung, one of the most electrifying performers that Hong Kong has ever produced. 

Leslie died by suicide in 2003. I just creeped Carina’s Instagram and I’m pretty sure this is her with Daffy Tong, Leslie’s longtime partner: 

Anyway, Anirac was already available at Lane Crawford prior to Carina’s most recent collection. Lane Crawford started in Hong Kong, like a Bergdorf’s. It has since expanded to other locations in China. It’s luxury retail. And after the show in Shanghai, according to THR, 11 more retailers are now stocking Anirac. Here are some shots from the runway: 

 

 

The timing is excellent. Think about Crazy Rich Asians (because by now you’ve read the books, right, I AM YELLING AT YOU) and the culture that that story spotlights. So much fashion cash money is dependent on the Asian market. And the movie is coming out next year. Will we soon see people wearing Anirac on the carpet?