ASIA PACIFIC
EUROPE
JAPAN
UNITED STATES
côte&ciel Presents: Duality A Day in Shanghai
For its latest visual study, côte&ciel turns its focus to Shanghai, a city defined by contrast and continuity. Positioned at the intersection of past and future, Shanghai offers a landscape that reflects the brand’s ongoing exploration of design parallels. The city's infrastructure unapologetically weaves through itself, merging various historical identities to form a contrasting megacity that is unapologetically itself. Due to côte&ciel’s continued dialogue with contemporary travel, we needed to experience it for ourselves.
Central to this visit is the concept of duality. Shot across a progression of locations, the series traces a path through the city, most notably along the Bund and beyond - an iconic and historic pathway that many locals traverse each day. Throughout the monumental distance that this walk boasts, Shanghai’s opposing identities are held in direct tension. On one side, a skyline of glass and steel rises with precision, defining the city’s forward-facing, ultra-modern presence. On the other hand, historic façades remain intact: ornamental, textured, and rooted in a legacy shaped in part by European, and specifically French, architectural influence.
This relationship is not a contrast alone, but a coexistence. Beyond the Bund, nestled within inner streets and alleys, the visual language shifts. The city compresses into a more intimate scale, where concrete meets wood, and surfaces reveal age through wear and adaptation. Residential structures stack and extend organically, forming layered environments that resist uniformity. It is within these transitional spaces that Shanghai’s identity becomes most apparent: not fixed, but continuously constructed. This duality of history defines the experience of moving through the city.
Our visit is anchored by creative couple Freja and Koma, whose individual practices reflect this same balance of influence and interpretation. Freja, a visual designer based between London and Suzhou, dedicated to exploring how digital technology and traditional techniques can be integrated into the visual field. Additionally, Freja is involved in music production, virtual 3D, graphic design, and interactive design. Koma, is a model, stylist, and visual director also based between London and Suzhou, exploring photography as a medium for his creative outlet.
Together, they embody a perspective shaped by their surroundings, one that aligns with côte&ciel’s approach to design as an evolving system rather than a fixed solution.
Rather than framing the city as a backdrop, this campaign positions it as an active contributor. Through Shanghai, côte&ciel continues its exploration of how environments influence the way objects are carried, used, and understood. The result is a study not only of place, but of interaction, where architecture, movement, and design exist in continuous exchange.
Credits:
Production: @weni. Ilc
executive producer: @polo__zheng
art director: @joey.g123
producer: @hou.w.y
director: @shunsaku_hirai
video assistant: @ichikawakun__
photographer: @teo. Joss
photo assistant: @hakuuzhao
hamu:
stylist: @polo__zheng @joey.g123
model: @ma_buq @__.freja
A special thanks to Attempt
Production: @weni. Ilc
executive producer: @polo__zheng
art director: @joey.g123
producer: @hou.w.y
director: @shunsaku_hirai
video assistant: @ichikawakun__
photographer: @teo. Joss
photo assistant: @hakuuzhao
hamu:
stylist: @polo__zheng @joey.g123
model: @ma_buq @__.freja
A special thanks to Attempt