1920s-1980s vintage clothing and accessories in Mega Vintage. [Photo by Zhu Haipeng/China Daily]

"Vintage clothing is the carrier of historical culture, which is what I'm really interested in. At the root of all the events I hold is culture."

She sees the shop as a kind of Alice's wonderland, she says.

"I wouldn't want to say it's a space disconnected with the world, because for me it's a dreamland and reality as well."

Liu is a little more hard-edged in his thinking, considering vintage clothing as resistance to reality.

"We make fun of mainstream culture and subvert it, and we couldn't care less about reality. That's because reality is the cruelest restriction you can impose on us."

One reason people appreciate vintage clothing is that it brings beauty from the past into their current reality.

"We are immersed in the past and in old culture; we are developing a lifestyle."

Contact the writer at xuhaoyu@chinadaily.com.cn