Proud To Be Chinese?
By NG
In the midst of New York Fashion Week, I know it's a bit odd for me to be blogging about a short editorial from October's China Vogue. But when I first saw the scans of "Proud To Be Chinese", it sparked up all kinds of thoughts and reations, more so than any spread that I've encountered recently.
Firstly, it's exciting to see young designers receiving the recognition and press that their incredible work warrants. All four of the designers featured, Alexander Wang, Jason Wu, Philip Lim and Derek Lam, are far from little-known; Wang's designs have been credited as the root of "The New Grunge", Lim and Lam are CFDA Award winners, and Wu's creations have been worn numerous times by U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama. Secondly, all four of these men are Asian-American. I don't just find this compelling because my mother in Chinese, but also because it represents a trend in design. As globalization continues to spread, the boundaries of race and nationality seem to blur. Art, and fashion as art, have constantly been a form of expression and identity, be it cultural or self-identification. This is, in part what I first reacted to when I saw this editorial.
The title of the China Vogue is Proud To Be Chinese, which is in itself fascinating. These four designers are of Chinese decent, but Lim and Wu were born in Thailand while Wang and Lam were both born in San Francisco, California. All four men were educated within the U.S., and now call New York City their home. I wonder what nationality each man identifies with... their heritage is Chinese, but do they consider themselves to be Chinese? Chinese-American? Or something entirely different? Does it surprise you that a major fashion-bible such as China Vogue would consider its self an authority on nationality, when fashion is recognized as one of the most egalitarian of art forms?
That said, certain aspects of the editorial stand out more than others. The models cast for this shoot, save for Du Juan, are not Chinese. Perhaps this is just my own observation, but the contrasts between the models and designers is unusual. If the editorial is titled Proud To be Chinese, it seems strange to use non-Asian models. I would be interested to find out about what went into planning this feature, and why certain choices (such as casting, lighting and artistic direction) were made.
In whole, this article caused me to question what the connection was between fashion and cultural identity. Does what we wear or create align us with our nationality? Or is style truly democratic and reach beyond the lines of age, race and ethnicity?
and Liu really is a stunner! Other than that, it's a weak issue.
