Shanghai in the 1920s and 30s was a daring experiment in what it meant to be modern. Its taste for the new was everywhere apparent in its visual culture – in its painters, graphic designers, cartoon and commercial artists, architects and interior decorators. Eclectically blending their own Chinese heritage with European, American and Japanese cultural influences, these artists created what Lynn Pan calls Shanghai Style, the defining look and ethos of the period. Denigrated by some at the time for being slick and superficial, and admired by others for being up-to-date and glamorous, today Shanghai Style is seen to be iconic, a true reflection of the city in its heyday.

Shanghai Style – the first in-depth book in any language on the subject – combines a scholar’s rigorous research with an obvious delight in the engaging personalities it introduces and the stories it tells.