And now, if a draft proposal before the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference is to become law, Chinese may end up looking like the auburn-haired barrel-chested president as well.

The Central Committee of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang has submitted a draft proposal that would institute the Mao suit, a Xi Jinping fashion staple worn during formal occasions, as becoming the national standard in China.

President Xi has been seen wearing the Mao suit at a number of formal occasions, such as during a state visit with Dutch King Willem-Alexander. Xi also wears the Mao suit in his capacity as leader of China’s armed forces, such as during last year’s military parade that commemorated the end of World War II.

However, the Mao suit has mostly disappeared from the public eye since the 90s in favor of Western-styled suits and ties. But that’s no reason to ditch this quintessentially Chinese fashion piece, as explained by deputy director of the KMT central committee Xiu Fujin:

Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Zhou Enlai, and other Chinese leaders wore Mao suits for important occasions, so why does our present generation only wear Western suits?

Xiu noted that this was not just an issue of fashion, but of nationality. And with President Xi serving as the only public figure popularizing the Mao suit, it appears that “looking the part” in China is more important than ever.

The Mao suit gets its distinctive style from being the sum of competing influences from the East and West. First introduced by Sun Yat-sen in the 20s after whom it received its Chinese name, the Mao suit was best popularized by Mao Zedong who appropriated the tunic into Chinese men’s and women’s fashion as well as military use.

Going retro always has the advantage of providing a look that is timeless when judged by modern sensibilities, but there’s so much more to the Mao suit. Sun Yat-sen infused political symbolism into the Mao suit, making it less a fashion statement and more a call to nationalism.

Every Mao suit has four pockets on the front to represent the Four Virtues: politeness, justice, honesty, and a sense of shame. The five buttons of a Mao suit represent the five branches of government in the constitution of the Republic of China. Similarly, the three buttons on the cuff of a Mao suit represent Sun’s Three Principles of the People: Nationalism, Democracy, and People’s Livelihood. Finally, the back of the suit is made of a single piece of cloth in order to signify the unity of the country.

With its symbolism cast, the Mao suit attained international exposure during the 2014 APEC summit. That’s when world leaders including US President Barack Obama and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin were all seen uniformly wearing a variation of the Mao suit. A tradition stemming from the 1993 summit when US President Bill Clinton handed out bomber jackets, Xi dressed up APEC attendees the same way he dresses for any important occasion that calls for a symbolic showing of Chinese nationalist principles.

So are Chinese fated to wear the Mao suit as compulsory and carry its heavy symbolism? We’ll just have to see. But if the Chinese public are going to take after President Xi’s fashions, they won’t be done until they start wearing Xi’s other noteworthy style contribution: the windbreaker.

As the New Yorker noted, Xi has shown a predilection for wearing the windbreaker ever since coming to power. However, unlike the Mao suit, Xi’s choice of the windbreaker has really rubbed off on his peers.

The trend is most noticeable in Chinese politicians seen in public with Xi who have all been seen wearing a Xi-style windbreaker. For example, during the public revamping of the National Museum of China in November when he first came into power, five of the brand-new Politburo Standing Committee’s seven members wore windbreakers, as did President Xi.

The windbreaker has its own connotations that include informality, frugality, and wholesomeness. It’s a piece of clothing that many Chinese already wear, but not one because they want to necessarily exude a sense of humility.

So even if the draft proposal becomes law and the Chinese public have to wear Mao suits by law, they won’t always be following in the President’s fashion choices. That is, not when President Xi has appropriated the dress of your everyday, average Chinese.

The post Mao Suits Making a Triumphant Return in China… By Law appeared first on The Nanfang.

As with many of the events held last week, the show was another Singles’ Day event. And in staying true to the Day’s focus on consumerism, the event showcased the models carrying a number of handbags.

Bizarrely, this is not the first time China has attempted to draw a connection between bikinis and Peking Opera. In 2012, the 37th Annual Miss Bikini International Contest outfitted contestants in Peking Opera headdresses while performing in bikinis. Needless to say, the Chinese public was not impressed with the trivialization of traditional Chinese culture, and the event drew public condemnation (video here).

And yet, somehow, “bikinis and Peking Opera” remains a mainstay of fashion shows and beauty pageants. This past August, Jinan was again the scene of a “Peking Opera-themed bikini show” in which contestants wore bikinis along with Peking Opera-styled headdresses (seen below):

The post East And West Fashion Collide As Bikini Models Share Stage With Peking Opera appeared first on The Nanfang.

Long time China hands may remember the shirt, photos of which were widely circulated when it debuted in 2007. Many had thought the controversy had faded away after designer Philipp Plein apologized and pulled it from production, but the fire has been reignited after word Philipp Plein plans to expand in China from its current 10 stores to 14.

Philipp Plein opened a Weibo account last August and quickly gained 26,000 followers, but a torrent of abuse forced the designer to close comments. Then word leaked about the expansion plans, and Chinese netizens have gone ballistic. They are calling for another apology and for consumers to boycott the brand, which is hampering its expansion plans. So far, Philipp Plein has remained silent.

Back in 2007, however, the brand explained away the shirt by saying it was proof it was not counterfeit, adding customers could relax knowing it was an authentic product. It gave the following statement:

The PHILIPP PLEIN Int. AG company would like to explain what lies behind this abbreviation and give the following statement: f.u.c.k.u.china stands for “the fascinating & urban collection: kiss you China”.

We would like to specify that we never intended to hurt or offend the citizens of China. On the contrary, with this collection we wanted to thank China because it gives us the possibility to produce some articles of our collection on a competitive price basis.

We are a young and dynamic company and this is why we initialed this limited T-shirt edition “fascinating and urban” collection and “kiss” is a way to thank the Chinese savoir-faire.

“At first glance, the shirt has a provocative and ambiguous label,” said Thomas Patrick with the company. “This is to make the consumer think and reflect upon the information contained within.”

Chinese media reported at the time that Philipp Plein apologized for the “misunderstanding” caused by the abbreviation, and said the message was not designed to target any Chinese people or hurt anyone.  China’s Ministry of Commerce also announced Philipp Plein and KULT, a store in Bremen, Germany, both apologised for the “production and sale of T-shirts which carry insulting words toward Chinese people”.

Fast forward to today, and China Daily is among the media organizations that remains opposed to the brand. It said the “provocative and racist” T-shirt is part of Philipp Plein’s “racist history” for which it “humiliated Chinese” with this “racist slur”. Other Chinese media are reasoning that the limited edition T-shirt crossed the line of decency, otherwise Philippe Plein would not have stopped selling it.

A major difference between English and Chinese language reporting of this story is that “Fuck you China” is translated into Chinese as “Get lost, China”. Despite denoting ill-will, the phrase “get lost” is not a pejorative with taboo connotations in Chinese culture, and is heard and seen uncensored in Chinese media. Furthermore, the racist caricature of the Chinese man is not mentioned at all in the China Daily report, nor is it brought up by Chinese netizens. In other reports, it is described as a “clown representing China”.

Despite Philipp Plein’s apology many years ago, Chinese netizens remain very angry and regard the phrase “Fuck you China” as a racist statement. Here are some comments from Chinese netizens, some of which come from the hashtag “Get the hell out of China Philipp Plein“, a small sub-group that began last Friday. Many of these were written in English:

天蝎座的面包超人:
Philipp-Plein, get the fuck out off from China, you know what the fxxk I am saying?

高晓辉gxh:
How can he come here with good intentions? How can China’s e-commerce market allow the sale of merchandise that has been “fucked” before? Haven’t they been fucked enough?

任格格儿:
Get lost! Shameless~after this, no one will buy this brand!

繁华烬逝丶执念:
Get out of China, China doesn’t welcome you.

Tia-D:
GET OUT OF CHINA! Get the hell out of here as soon as you can.

傻仔怪:
GET OUT

潮平淮月朦胧:
We should let more of our countrymen know about this. Fuck your mother’s cunt, now he wants to come and earn our money, and even has ten stores in China! Search him out, and kick him out!

ADFFEFEWE:
Fuck Philipp-Plain! Get out of China! We will never buy your garbage! I will tell my friends what u have done![downthumb.emoji]

嘉嘉爱数学:
By closing down your comments section, can you reject the allegations of racial discrimination? Apologise, otherwise, please get the hell out of China!!!

The post Designer Who Printed “Fuck You China” on T-Shirts Finding it Hard to Expand in the Country appeared first on The Nanfang.

Playboy, the magazine, has actually never been sold in China. Nonetheless, the company calls China a “very important” market for other reasons.

For the past 20 years, Playboy has been licensing the sale of Playboy merchandise in China. Clothes, luggage, and perfume all branded with the iconic bunny head logo have been marketed to Chinese consumers.

Last Wednesday, Playboy said it had signed an exclusive 10-year licensing deal with manufacturer and distributor Handong United, unifying a market strategy that had previously been split into different licensees in different parts of the country.

“Playboy has generated $5 billion in retail revenue in China in the last decade, we’re looking to double that number over the next decade,” said Matt Nordby, president of global licensing and chief revenue officer of Playboy Enterprises. “China is extremely important to our business.”

Playboy CEO Scott Flanders said: “Without a specific media presence there, we depend on the great brand awareness of Playboy to take over the leading position (in the industry).”

“Playboy is one of China’s most famous and best quality brands,” said Xiao Jianhong from Handong. “Throughout the mainland region, fashionable men and women feel that Playboy is the brand they must purchase.”

Playboy looks to open 400 new stores to 3,500 and grow its customer base, primarily by targeting women and developing a bigger presence online. Currently, most of its Playboy brand fashions are geared towards men.

Playboy is also reported to be teaming up with luxury goods maker Marc Jacobs and Lane Crawford.

Long associated as a men’s magazine featuring racy photos of nude women, Playboy magazine can’t be sold in China under current laws against pornography. However, despite no magazine, Chinese people know about Playboy’s tradition as a girly magazine.

The brand name “Playboy” in Chinese has the same meaning of  a “carefree, hedonistic bachelor” as it does in English, and also has the same negative connotation. Many Chinese are aware of Hugh Hefner’s role in developing adult magazines as they are with Marilyn Monroe’s association with Playboy. And even if they are not, Playboy websites featuring its most reliable content can currently be accessed on the Chinese internet, in addition to localized magazines in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

And here are some Playboy merchandise retail stores:

The post Playboy to Expand in China… Without the Sex appeared first on The Nanfang.

In the opening number, actor Tong Dawei was wearing Gieves & Hawkes, while his wife, actress Guan Yue, wore a rainbow-colored dress from Shiatzy Chen’s 2015 Spring/Summer collection.

Wife and Husband team, Guan Yue and Tong Dawei

Na Ying, who sang a song called Silk Road, was spotted wearing a pork-dot Givenchy pantsuit, accessorized with Tasaki jewellery and pumps by Gucci.

Na Ying’s Givenchy pant suit was straight from the fashion house’s 2015 collection.

Li Yuchun, winner of Super Girl, China’s answer to American Idol, was wearing a customized pantsuit also by Shiatzy Chen. Hong Kong singer Karen Mok wore the same designer brand. Actress Liu Tao, who paired with comedian Guo Dongling, was wearing bright red Dolce & Gabbana. Actor Lu Yi who appeared on popular reality TV Show Where Did My Dad Go? was wearing the same designer brand, as was his wife and daughter who sang a song together on the show.

Li Yuchun picked out this design out of over 20 design sketches.

Actor Zhu Yawen was wearing Gucci, and Hong Kong pop singer G.E.M. wore Emma Wallace.

The Lu family all opted for Dolce & Gabanna.

The show of glitz, glamor, and wealth was in stark contrast to orders from President Xi Jinping to rein in overt displays of wealth.

The post CCTV Spring Festival Gala Becomes Showcase for High Street Fashion appeared first on The Nanfang.

With a name that literally means “embroidered ball”, Xiuqiu was modelling a collection designed by Lawrence, the same designer who had previously made dresses for Chinese celebrity Fan Bingbing.

The People’s Daily reported Xiuqiu as having “won high appreciation from the fashion circle with her unique Chinese character and professional presentation.”

Xiuqiu has won praise from netizens online as a “loli”, a word borrowed from the Japanese “lolicon”, which is in itself related to “Lolita”. It’s often used in China to describe cute children.

The post 9 Year Old Chinese Model Turns Heads at Paris Fashion Week appeared first on The Nanfang.

Clothing brands Forever 21, Zara, H&M and Mango are the latest additions to China’s long list of brands blacklisted by the country’s watchdog for quality problems following MUJI and Jack Jones, both were called out earlier in August, CCTV reported on August 27.

According to a post from the country’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, a total of 12,305 items produced by foreign clothing brands failed to reach the watchdog’s quality standards. However, it didn’t give any indication on what precisely the problems were.  Common quality problems found in clothes include color fastness, fiber content, and pH index, problems which could cause allergy and skin irritation.

Photos: CCTV 

The post CCTV Singles Out More Foreign Clothing Brands For Poor Quality appeared first on The Nanfang.

Since they first appeared in the public eye in Qingdao in 2012, Facekinis have been the talk of summertime in China. But they’ve never really gotten the attention they’ve deserved… until now.

As reported by Sina, fashion magazine CR Fashion Book has published a pictorial featuring the facekini. Photographed at Piscine Molitor, the pictorial centers on the concept that a “deep tan is the enemy”:

While our summer beauty routines are devoted to bronzing, self-tanning, and tan-extending, in Asia, beauty-seekers are more likely to center theirs around lightening and brightening… These beautiful eyes are peering from behind a mask—still enjoying summer, but avoiding a summer glow at all costs.

CR Fashion Book is run by Carine Roitfeld, former editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris. Who knows? Perhaps the facekini is set to take the world by storm.

Related:

• Look Out: The Swimsuit-Matching “Facekini” Is Back
• Netizens Upset at “Blasphemous” Combo of Chinese Opera and Bikinis
• Not Even A Car Can Stand In The Way Of China’s Dancing Grannies

Photos: CR Fashion Book

The post Paris Fashion Mag Features China’s Famous “Facekini” In Photo Shoot appeared first on The Nanfang.

Netizens are furious after pictures of a private fashion show in Fujian appeared online that showed models clad in bikinis and swimwear while wearing traditional stage headdresses from the local Fujian Chinese opera.

Linzi, an organizer of the show, explained they wanted to create something fresh, so they combined swimwear with traditional opera headdresses as something “old and new”. Linzi said the performance was just a one-time small-scale fashion show, and she said she’s sorry if any netizens had their feelings hurt.

The response to the photos has been overwhelmingly negative, calling the fashion show “blasphemous” and “a violation of China’s innocence”.

Here are some netizen comments over the controversy:

钟泳林：
Are they all prostitutes?

JCheng1012：
They should wear the dudou (an undergarment that covers the chest and abdomen). That way it’s sexier.

Chok蓝人：
Historic traditions are for remembering, not to be remade! Don’t destroy several thousand years of Chinese history!

硬虎无变鹿：
In order to made the anhiliation (of history) all the more thorough, is this some kind of draft (to work in) Dongguan?

请叫我fan_Fundy：
This is a violation of our country’s innocence

肖哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈：
So hard on the eyes! Nothing good will come of this!

Cacuts_s：
Nothing wrong here

叫我健叔叔_Ken：
The design composition of those pieces of cloth is not enough, I feel as though the top and bottom are not coordinated. The headpieces are too solemn and grandiose, while the clothing is too spartan.

周游You-Chow：
Do you fucking take this to be a Category III film? Businessmen will do unscrupulous things for money; before long, the several thousand years of culture left to us by our ancestors will be completely destroyed by this scum.

明翔熙：
What a tragedy… people from generations past are more innocent. It never would have occurred to me that people of this generation would destroy the image of our country’s innocence.

-溧歆：
Very ugly, including the faces. [happy.emo]

summer馮馮：
It has lost the feeling of beauty.

猴年马月的牛头马面：
I feel as if I’m watching the Golden Lotus (a notorious Ming Dynasty known for its sexual content), but is an updated modern version!

Rowckee：
I’d say I can accept this because this involves cultural content, and so will multiply without end.

Helyn_Lam：
A day without selling meat spells the end of your days.

Here are more photos from the fashion show:

Related:

• Bigwigs Demand Bikini-clad Babes Buff BMWs in Beijing
• Bikini Babes Welcome Summer at Guangzhou Water Park Promotion
• Bikini-clad Shenzhen girls call for “rational” protest against the Japanese
• Dongguan Plumber Proposes to Girlfriend in Bra and Panties

Photos: Guangzhou Daily

The post Netizens Upset at “Blasphemous” Combo of Chinese Opera and Bikinis appeared first on The Nanfang.

A Weibo user from Guanlin, Luoyang posted pictures of the man, and wrote text to accompany them: (translated)

Wait until my hair grows to my waist, it will be better to marry you then.

Now, this is what you call an ‘elegant demeanor’.

Guanlin has a model for international style. 

Give me a ‘like’. 

However, while he’s lauded as an old hipster, he’s still a beggar, according to the original poster:

An old beggar, though his heart remains young. I am stupid, I am elegantly unrestrained.

And so, the compliments come in, perhaps even too easily now that everyone knows his social standing. Here are some comments from netizens from the original post:

日照-来奇：
He’s leading the way of the international trend!

爱乐游：
Feh, he’s so handsome.

壹玖柒柒：
Don’t know which sect he belongs to. [confused.emo]

海豚座星云：
After going through the circuit of all the big stars, international fashion has lost all of its moxy in the blink of an eye.

ponyo-不爱吃柠檬的啵妞：
Wow, so cool! He’s a model for international style! [laughing.emo]

沛县同城会：
He’s got the magic touch [thumbsup.emo]

郑州洛菲拾花摄：
He’s super cool [laughstifle.emo]

雨隹云龙：
His shoes are very current; he reminds me of Brother Sharp.
[Brother Sharp was a meme from a couple of years back; he was also a homeless man just walking on the street when someone took a flattering picture of him]

奢宠会所：
Whatever people are isn’t important; what’s important is the attitude with which we treat them.

胖旋BBER：
Other people laugh at me for being crazy, I laugh at other people for not wearing what they acknowledge (to be fashionable).

Photos: News China

The post Photos: The Most Fashionable Man in China is a Henan Beggar appeared first on The Nanfang.