Having a walk in Beijing or simply sitting outside at a cafe sipping hot coffee can almost be as exciting as being in the front row at a cutting-edge stylist’s fashion show. This is because people on the street, whether they are going to work, to the gym, coming back from a trip or just strolling around, are not afraid to dress up and express themselves using their clothes, accessories and make up.
If you spend any random sunny weekend sitting in a cozy spot in Sanlitun area with a camera in your hands, you can capture the play of Beijing street style, performed by locals, foreigners, mums and dads, business men and students alike.
It’s getting chillier and chillier, and yet they sport shorts and mini skirts on bare tattooed legs, short sleeved T-shirts and the bravest even sandals. And most looks don’t seem to be complete without sunglasses, often mirrored, just to be able to see, or sometimes, not be seen.
This season’s favourite staple has to be the hat. Whether it’s fisherman’s style, a flat cap, a beanie or you borrowed it from a cowboy, you’re never fully dressed without one. Drawing inspiration directly from New York and Milan fashion weeks, Beijingers understood that what they need is a special fall hat, an accessory that is so chic it actually exists to complement their ensemble, not just cover their sometime wayward – or questionable – coiffure.
But what makes China’s huge capital city so special is that its inhabitants love to smile, and we think this is definitely what tops our favorite fall street trends. Happy people are always the prettiest, said Audrey Hepburn. And the most stylish, we want to add.
China-based Street style photographers P1 make it their business to capture these moments of daily stylish life in the coolest neighbourhoods of Beijing. Art districts, shopping streets and university areas – they have around 20 photographers on the task with big cameras and a sharp eye when it comes to fashion trends. 
They shoot amazing pictures, upload them on their own social media platform, and in this way have developed a network of fashion savvy people in and around the city; which in turn has created one of the most interesting street style databases since The Sartorialist.
