The Night Market: Sellers of the Night

The night market is a common tourist attraction for many surrounding Asian countries, with vendors lining the street to sell a selection of goods, including watches, bags and sunglasses. But in the city of Shanghai, where temperatures dip down into the minuses in winter, it’s taken a while to take off. A cosmopolitan city where Louis Vuitton and Gucci dominate the commercial shopping experience, the night market has long been seen as a rather exotic concept of Bohemian roots.

But that’s not to say it’s not there: it’s just that not many people have known where to find it. The answer lies at Dada, where owner Michael Ohlsson, brought the concept inside in 2010, effectively launching the first Shanghai night market event.

The thought of bringing together the collective talents of up and coming fashion designers seemed like a natural idea in Shanghai’s pop culture scene, and the fact that no one else had started an event like it signalled the green light for Ohlsson to make it happen. As the owner of a bar, Ohlsson was able to use his venue to (literally) set up shop while friends and colleagues, DJ Sacco and Sophia Wang took charge of organising the vendors to feature.
As Ohlsson remembers it, “Back in the day, DJ Sacco had already been involved in our “Wednesday Weekly” night, playing music from 60s rock and soul. Sophia, my friend, was into collecting and selling vintage clothing, so putting it all together seemed like a good match. We wanted to do more than just have another bar night; we wanted to mix in some culture, some community, while also educating the younger generation about this seminal music and fashion era.”

The project, was further developed by fashionably smart shopper Sandy Chu, who is now the current host and organiser of the night market. She was a fan of the project from the beginning and believed it had the potential to be something great.

“I saw that Dada had had a few night market events before, but they weren’t held on a consistent basis. As a fashion enthusiast, I really craved a fun and alternative shopping experience that occurred more frequently. After thinking about it for a while, it dawned on me that maybe I could ask to be involved.”

She then inquired about an open position to Ohlsson and was eventually granted the responsibility of organising the entire event. “She showed great promise through her popular fashion blog [http://www.shanghaistyle.onsugar.com]. I admired her unwavering persistence and precocious talent for event management, so bringing her onboard wasn’t even a question. Because of her, the night market is on a whole other level. The variety of participants that she has brought in has made Dada very proud,” says Ohlsson.
With Chu as the host, the night market has since increase its vendor participants from four to ten, in addition to taking on a stronger organisational flow. It’s up to Chu to find and book vendors, promote the Night Market to English language media and manage the layout of the tables to ensure that the night runs smoothly.

“I host one night market a month, usually around the second or third Wednesday. It starts at 8pm and goes on until 12am. On average, I invite nine to ten different businesses so that less-known talents get a fair chance to display their merchandise and gain a higher following of customers.”

In order to minimise competitiveness between vendors, Chu selects only one business from each of the following categories: food, accessories, jewellery, clothing, vintage, skincare and menswear. “I try to make an interesting mix for visitors. Vendors are not selected according to my taste, but instead are chosen for the kind of products that the brand offers.”

The youth, making up the vast majority of the Night Market’s visitors, has come to embrace Chu’s astute business logic. Rather than being overwhelmed by a conglomerate of store merchandise and salesmen competing for profits, shoppers are able to experience the overall culture of the Night Market, often revelling in the opportunity to converse with vendors about their business, as well as being educated about what’s out there. Many fashionistas peruse the bazaar-like ambiance in search of new and unique treasures that cost anywhere from RMB 10 to RMB 1,000, while also gaining insight into the latest fashion trends. “I often see a good handful of people I recognise from the fashion circuit; usually a few designers show up as well just to see the turn-out,” says Chu.

Vendor feedback has been equally positive in regards to the Night Market’s ability to increase brand awareness for start-up companies. Gene Contreras, the Creative Director and Sales Manager of Operation Chiin Chilla, which designs customised apparel, sees his upcoming April appearance in the Night Market to be a fun way of displaying the brand’s goods.

“If we had found out about the Night Market before, we would have tried to be part of it every month. Shanghai has a ‘no rules’ approach to fashion exploration, which is an exciting trait. Like our brand, Shanghai thrives on connecting to the current music scene.”

Cécile Cavoizy, the Program Manager of Shanghai Young Bakers, is one of the vendors who will be participating in the April night market, and expresses her enthusiasm towards being a part of the project. “We will be the only food vendors at the market, which is great because it allows us to promote our charity. What we do is give disadvantaged students the opportunity to become professional bakers, so all of our focus is put on making ends meet..”

With a strong flow of visitors numbering around a couple of hundred (as long as it’s not raining outside) and a growing list of anxious businesses waiting to be featured to boot, it’s clear that expectations for the Night Market are on the rise.

“In the future, we’d like to see more of a variety of local crafts and fashion brands participate. So far, the majority of participants have really benefitted by getting their brand out there and earning a lot in sales on the actual night,” says Ohlsson.

“If we could accommodate three or four more vendors, that would be awesome,” says Chu, “But until then I can wait. I don’t want it to start feeling like a tin of sardines in there.”

Dada Night Market. Wednesday 18 April from 8pm – 12am. 115 Xingfu Lu, near Fahuazhen Lu.
Tel: 150 0018 2212