Dolce & Gabbana sparked local outrage in January, when a shop guard stopped Hongkongers from snapping photos of the Tsim Sha Tsui storefront. Online chat rooms were filled with speculation that the store was protecting the identities of the predominantly mainland clientele inside, on the view that D&G's powerful patrons did not want to be photographed spending lavishly on luxury goods.
At the height of the episode, when 1,000 protesters surrounded D&G's flagship store, thus shutting it down, columnist Chip Tsao offered a solution. 'Our mainland government officials can spend money at D&G as usual, so long as D&G can give them a paper bag to cover their head ... This way all these 'paper bag men' can continue to go gaga on shopping while Hong Kong people can photograph from outside. No one would care any more if you take a million pictures,' the former BBC journalist quipped.
The episode opened an intriguing query: what to get a government official with a taste for luxury but with a political need to keep a low profile (read: not spending excessively)?
The answer, say some, is spectacles from the German firm Lotos, whose basic - albeit solid gold - frames start at 100,000 yuan (HK$123,000). A diamond-encrusted version costs five million yuan, but those looking for a little slice of Lotos on the cheap can buy a single platinum screw for several hundred yuan.
This is seriously expensive eyewear. But because Lotos' creations carry no logo, they are not instantly recognisable as a designer product to the untrained eye. For that reason, the brand has a reputation for being favoured by mainland officials. The assumption is that some in government do not want to draw attention to their wealth, but still crave luxury.
The unbranded Lotos strikes just the right balance between status and discretion, says Ouyang Kun, head of the Beijing office of the World Luxury Association, a research group.
'Government officials like Lotos' non-branded look,' says Ouyang. 'The lack of logo means no one can tell the brand of the product. But the fact that the glasses are so expensive makes the officials feel secretly proud and happy.'
