The charmed life of Lucky Luke

Liu Ke in one of his two shops in Beijing called Mega Vintage. [Photo Provided to China Daily]

First it was rock and now it is vintage apparel. A shop owner revels in a life in which music and fashion are in harmony.

'I've done just two big things in my life," Liu Ke says. "I played rock for five or six years and I have run vintage clothes shops for the past 10 years."

Liu Ke, 32, owns two shops in Beijing called Mega Vintage.

"If life's a great big book, I reckon that for me rock is the opening chapter."

Liu says he was immature and knew next to nothing when he was 15 years old, and rock introduced him to the world.

Rock music was a dream he pursued, he says, a foil he wielded to ensure the world did not limit him.

Thus music - and he sees his type of music as youth culture - has had a defining influence on him. It reflects the society and culture of a particular time, he says.

Initially the music of the 1970s was his forte and great passion, but as time passed he began to pay attention to the kinds of clothing that seemed to attach themselves to various music genres.

"Music provides a window on the popular culture of an era, and the clothes that performers wear play an important role in that."

He cites a United States militarytype shirt that John Lennon wore on stage in the 1970s and says the former Beatle thus set a fashion trend.

"Even now, many brands reproduce the kind of gear Lennon wore."