A LIFE LESS ORDINARY

Tastemaker and cultural entrepreneur ADRIAN CHENG continues to help the cultural ecosystem evolve in myriad ways, writes STEPHEN SHORT

entrepreneur Adrian Cheng announced that he had launched a self-led investment fund, C Ventures, with co-founder Clive Ng to target millennialand Gen Z-savvy brands and experiences. The fund “has no set investment limit or cap on the amount of capital raised”, according to C Ventures, and is specifically targeting the youth in China. “C Ventures isn't simply an investment fund or a venture capital firm. What I'm building is a cultural ecosystem that connects coteries from fashion, media and creative platforms globally, allowing them to collide, cross-pollinate and grow,” explains Cheng.

Focusing primarily on fashion, C Ventures already has full ownership and stakes in a variety of up-and-coming brands such as digital video channel Nowness, e-commerce site Not Just a Label, luxury rental services Armarium (which rents out pieces by Jimmy Choo and Christopher Kane) and Flont (which rents jewellery from the likes of Tiffany & Co, Bulgari and Cartier), media channel Dazed and activewear retailer Bandier. Cheng and Ng look to offer their expertise and support to connect and grow Asian and Western brands globally across markets.

One look at Cheng's Instagram tells a lot about his direction and his quotidian ecosystem. He may operate off the radar to a large extent, but he's never far from the movers and shakers that make all the noise. At a recent glance, he was dining with Gucci and Massimo Bottura on October 18; hob-knobbing with British Vogue's new editorial incumbent Edward Enninful on October 13 and with Louis Vuitton menswear designer Kim Jones the previous day; having dinner with David Beckham, designer Marc Newsome and make-up artist Charlotte Tilbury on October 12; spending time with blogger Susie Bubble earlier in the day; and hanging out with Colette founder Sarah Andelman on October 11 in the morning, then rockstar curator Klaus Biesenbach of MoMA PS1 later in the day.