Beyond Ginger Flower and silk dreams: Inside Shanghai Tang’s evolving vision as a lifestyle brand
If you grew up in or around Hong Kong, chances are you have a Shanghai Tang story. Perhaps it was stepping into one of the brand’s stores, enveloped by the scent of its iconic Ginger Flower fragrance. Or watching your mother carefully fold a jade-green speckled qipao, her eyes lighting with nostalgia. For others, it might be the feel of a Tang jacket—a piece that distils cultural heritage into every elegant line.
Shanghai Tang co-chairmen Derek Sulger and Jerry Mao—who also hold leadership roles at UNMI Hospitality and Beijing’s UCCA Centre for Contemporary Art—certainly have theirs. For Sulger, Shanghai Tang represents more than a brand; it encapsulates an entire worldview. “My earliest memories are tied to that lifestyle and culture—shopping at Shanghai Tang in Hong Kong, watching In the Mood forLove (2000), staying at the Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok, meeting David Tang at the China Club,” he tells Tatler. “I relive those memories each time I put on a Shanghai Tang jacket, see my wife wearing a fortune necklace, or smell Ginger Flower.”
For Mao, the connection began with Shanghai Tang’s distinct visual language. “For me and many of my peers, our first memory is of the aesthetic—something so unique, modern and irreverent, yet also rooted in cultural elements we inherently understood," Mao said. For him, the brand also symbolised an aspiration: “We wanted to be part of this lifestyle—where Chinese and Asian cultures clashed evocatively with old-money Europe. The image of David Tang greeting Princess Diana captured it best.”These personal associations are no coincidence. Over three decades, Shanghai Tang has cultivated something rare in luxury: emotional memory-making. Now, Sulger and Mao are building on that legacy—crafting a future where heritage meets hospitality, and tradition is transformed into tomorrow’s most coveted experiences.In case you missed it: From bandage dresses to flip-flops: millennial fashion trends that are back in style
Shanghai Tang chairman and co-owner Derek Sulger in a Tang Five-Button jacket and Leander Club tie (Photo: Shanghai Tang)
Shanghai Tang CEO and co-owner Jerry Mao in Imperial Tailoring (Photo: Shanghai Tang)
Shanghai Tang was founded in 1994 by the late Sir David Tang, who opened the first store in the iconic Pedder Building in Hong Kong. From the outset, his vision was radical: to create a “quintessentially Chinese” global brand on par with the cultural power of Coca-Cola or Mercedes-Benz. But this vision was never limited to fashion—it was always about curating an entire lifestyle.
Tang’s identity as a Cambridge-educated bon vivant, equally at ease in Eastern and Western circles, informed the brand’s DNA. His earlier venture, the China Club, had already introduced immersive cultural theatre—1930s Shanghai Art Deco blended with playful Maoist iconography. “Make life a party”, Tang’s personal motto, became Shanghai Tang’s philosophical core.
Unlike fashion houses that later evolved into lifestyle brands, some of Shanghai Tang’s earliest stores already functioned as an emporium of cultural storytelling—offering bespoke qipao and Tang jackets, the cult-favourite Mao Zedong watch and the signature Ginger Flower fragrance that became its olfactory emblem.
A timeless Shanghai Tang x Chen Man Tang qipao (Photo: Shanghai Tang)
Japanese singer and guitarist Miyavi in Shanghai Tang x Chen Man Tang Five-Button jacket and trousers (Photo: Shanghai Tang)
With plans to further Shanghai Tang activities in restaurants as well as expand into hotels, Sulger and Mao are ensuring the brand’s distinctive ethos continues to thrive. “We have never seen Shanghai Tang as ‘just’ fashion—it’s always been about taste, and how culture is lived,” they share. “Most brands start with product and evolve into culture. We begin with culture—shaped by our personal roles, including expanding UCCA Center for Contemporary Art—and embed it into everything from fashion to hospitality.”
Central to their vision is the creation of immersive lifestyle destinations, beginning with a new Middle East flagship in Abu Dhabi. While an opening date has yet to be announced, the duo reveal that the space will feature a restaurant, lounge, homeware, accessories—and even a shoeshine experience. “We’re most excited about our upcoming location, which will manifest our values—cultural authenticity, meaning, atmosphere—in a way that speaks to today’s luxury consumer,” say the co-chairmen. “We’re pushing all our locations to blend luxury and experiential design.”
This emphasis on cultivating a "holistic Shanghai Tang experience" reflects their belief that today’s luxury consumer lives and breathes a multi-faceted lifestyle. “They are striving for old-money success in a modern world. They’re successful entrepreneurs who dress casually but seek the very best,” Sulger and Mao explain. “They’re today’s Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung—inspired by In the Mood for Love (2000)—a little happier, a lot wealthier, but still holding the same dreams, emotions and aspirations."
The Tang Playmaker Polo campaign shot by Chen Man (Photo: Shanghai Tang)
The Tang Playmaker Polo campaign shot by Chen Man (Photo: Shanghai Tang)
Under Sulger and Mao’s watchful eye, Shanghai Tang’s ready-to-wear collections have continued to evolve too. Alongside contemporary reinterpretations of brand signatures such as the five-button Tang jacket and silk qipao blouse, the duo spotlight the Tang Playmaker Polo, released this June. Accompanied by a campaign photographed by renowned Chinese fashion photographer and artist Chen Man, the design reimagines the classic polo shirt with a Mandarin collar, a silk-cotton blend and embroidered Eastern motifs.
Looking ahead, Sulger and Mao have even bolder ambitions. Their vision? For Shanghai Tang to be seen as not just a brand, but rather, a purveyor of lifestyle ecosystems. “It will be a network of destinations, experiences and expressions that reflect a sophisticated, aesthetically elevated, culture-forward lifestyle,” they share.
Their final message to the industry is one that would no doubt make Shanghai Tang’s late founder proud. “We hope to remain a beacon of cultural authenticity and to continue bringing that authenticity into everything we do—and to see it rise in importance as our region and our customers increasingly become a force in the world,” Sulger and Mao say. “It’s about creating many more great memories and evocative experiences, and sharing the Shanghai Tang aesthetic, luxury and lifestyle that already resonates so deeply.”
NOW READ
Where fabric meets fantasy: The savoir-faire behind Chanel’s 2024/25 Métiers d’art collection