FINANCIAL TIMES
Asian art and luxury buying boom
Written by Chan Ho-him and Jennifer Creery, October 19, 2022
While some of Hong Kong’s rich leave, others buy art and pledge to stay put.
Laura Cheung’s interiors business has tapped into Hong Kong’s home renovation wave © Anthony Kwan
Pandemic restrictions that only ended in September and Beijing’s political crackdown have driven some wealthier residents of Hong Kong to look outwards — and move their assets abroad or set up home overseas.
Others, meanwhile, have been turning inwards.
And for visitors heading into the sprawling colonial-era house of Laura Cheung, founder of luxury interior design studio Lala Curio, the most striking sight at first is the pearl-embroidered wallpaper with hand-painted coral reefs. The 37-year-old’s property sits on a quiet street in the exclusive neighbourhood of Kadoorie Hill at the heart of Kowloon.
“Imagine haute couture fashion — that is what we do with walls,” she says, describing the 18th century-inspired embroidered wallpaper that has become the signature of Lala Curio, which she founded in 2014.
As they have acquired this affluence, the interior design maven and her financier husband James Wolf have developed a taste for contemporary art. In their living room is British abstract artist Victor Pasmore’s limited edition “Look into the Pool Narcissus Found” (1974). The centrepiece of the dining room is a monochromatic ink and gouache work by Chinese-French modern artist T’ang Haywen.
Cheung’s bespoke wallpaper and furniture business continues to enjoy boom times, too — reporting revenue growth of about 20 per cent in 2021 compared with the year before on the back of increased home renovations. This is despite a general economic slowdown, with the city in recession in the first half of 2022.
Lala Curio’s bespoke wallpaper features pearl embellished designs © Lala Curio
Lala Curio’s sales grew around 20 per cent in 2021 © Lala Curio
Nor is Cheung alone in her success. Across Hong Kong, the wealthy are renovating their homes with expensive fittings, buying luxury goods and putting money into expensive art. Far from thinking of leaving the territory — like some of their rich friends and acquaintances — she and her husband have been staying put and spending.
At one level, it is a worldwide trend. From fine art to fine wine, luxury-sector companies have bounced back from the depths of the pandemic as their super-rich customers have, so far, been largely immune to global inflation and economic turmoil. After its worst decline on record in 2020, the global personal luxury goods market grew last year to reach €288bn in value, up 7 per cent on 2019, according to consultancy Bain. It says 2022 began with a further healthy rise.
Source: FINANCIAL TIMES; https://www.ft.com/content/987f5b86-3430-41ce-9dbc-da6c15b28c42
Founder and interior designer, Laura Cheung Wolf’s house is an art itself. This place is a combination of love, family, and her view of art. Laura decorates every corner precisely by using refined decorations, chinoiserie furniture, and hand-painted wallpaper.