Alessio Liu

Alessio Liu is the co-founder, buyer and art director of Hangzhou concept store B1OCK, which he has grown into a cultural hub for the city’s fashion set.

B1OCK, which takes up a staggering 10 floors and 6,000 square metres within Hangzhou’s Renzo Piano-designed Ooeli complex, was acquired by the JNBY Group in 2024. Liu's leadership has been instrumental to both the store’s success and its reputation as a destination for international brands seeking entry into Hangzhou. Tapping into the affluence of the city — and particularly its tech sector — Liu carved out a unique identity for the store by offering a highly curated mix of up-and-coming and established designers, from Phoebe Philo, to Rick Owens, Yohji Yamamoto and The Row.

Liu matched B1OCK’s tight curation with a unique interior design, collaborating with American artist Theaster Gates, across themed floors such as ‘Fine Femme,’ ‘Little Stranger’ and ‘Rude Boy’ and spaces for a restaurant, café and art gallery. The retailer has hosted events for tastemakers like 032C magazine, collaborated with renowned artists, and opened a pop-up shop with in-demand Chinese label Ruohan. These moves have helped Liu attract a discerning clientele and led him to open a second B1ock outpost in the Aranya Beidahe resort. Liu has a degree in fashion design from Milan’s Istituto Europeo di Design and spent almost a decade working in Europe’s multi-brand retailers before returning to China in 2017. B1OCK also hosted Asia’s first Rick Owens furniture exhibition and event in 2024 and Martin Margiela's first solo retrospective exhibition in Asia, which has just opened in 2025.