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KGNU's Claudia Cragg speaks here with the delightfully husky-voiced Angelica Cheung, editor-in-chief of Vogue China and, before that, editorial director of the Chinese edition of Elle and the editor-in-chief of Marie Claire Hong Kong where she also co-published several other fashion magazines.

Cheung says that in the early days of fashion shoots for Vogue China, Westerners thought only of “'cheongsams, opium beds and 'In the Mood for Love'”, but she had to let them know that was very patronising. She is not interested, she says, in being told what Chinese women should or should not do or wear. Through her work, she is trying she says to create an energy among her readers and while she is not what she terms a 'fashion feminist', she does cares about how her Chinese readers feel about their lives and being happy because “life is short”.

Born in 1966 Cheung recently took part in the International New York Times S.E.A. Of Luxury conference, @INYTLuxury, hosted by Suzy Menkes, designed the organizers say to “bring South East Asia out of the shadows with an agenda that looked at Asia both as as a luxury goods supplier, as well as a powerful consumer base”.

The daughter of a Chinese diplomat, Cheung graduated from Peking University in 1990 where she obtained degrees in law and English language and literature. She subsequently received an MBA degree from University of South Australia and then in 1993 took a position as a writer at 'Eastern Express', an English-language newspaper in Hong Kong, She covered all aspects of life there in the run-up to the handover to China in 1997 and then, in 2001, was named editor-in-chief of Marie Claire Hong Kong and, in 2003,editorial director at Elle China in Shanghai. When publisher Conde Nast wanted to launch Vogue in China, the company asked Cheung to take the lead and since 2005 she has been editorial director.

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Speaking to KGNU's Claudia Cragg in person @INYTLuxury held recently in Singapore Livia Firth (yes, Colin IS her husband) says that girls or young women should wear their clothes thoughtfully, each piece at least 30 times, in the name of 'Sustainability'.

Because of her work with the GCC, Livia Firth was awarded in November 2012 the title of UN Leader of Change Award.

Firth is the brains behind the 'Green Carpet Challenge, a fast moving, dynamic project working to unlock “Sustainable Style” in the fashion industry. Since its creation in 2009, she and the GCC have blazed a trail working with A-list designers pioneering sustainability in brands at the world’s most high profile events. From the Golden Globes and Academy Awards to the Met Ball and Cannes Film Festival, the GCC has collaborated with all the iconic design houses in the world winning widespread critical acclaim and international media attention.

Most recently, with Chopard – one of the world’s largest privately owned luxury jewellery and accessory companies – we launched its journey to sustainable luxury by forging a philanthropic relationship with South America’s most influential mining NGO: the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM). 

Previously in September 2012, the GCC created ‘The Green Cut’ – a unique exhibition pairing eight seminal fashion designers with eight iconic films to create a collection of striking gowns. The exhibition, which saw the British Fashion Council (BFC) and the British Film Institute (BFI) worked together for the first time, opened London Fashion Week and was celebrated at the London Film Festival, before being shown in Harrods. Read more here.

In March 2013, the GCC created the GCC Brand Mark and launched with Gucci a new frontier for sustainable style: the world’s first zero deforestation certified handbag collection from Amazon leather. Read more here.

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In this interview with Claudia Cragg for KGNU's 'It's The Economy' @INYTLuxury 2013 the focus is on China, with a review of the Plenum late last year, and the opportunities for US and others. Amidst a barrage of criticism and fiscal negativity directed towards that country, we talk with a native-born woman, US-educated Jing Ulrich, Managing Director and Vice Chairman of J P Morgan. She is in a unique position to discuss what to expect economically from the new leader Xi Jing Ping, from her ringside seat as a significant very high-level financial advisor both to China on the US and also to the US on China.