Chinanews client, November 18th (Reporter Zhang Xi) What do Chinese women look like?
Recently, in the "Dior and Art" exhibition in Shanghai, a photo taken by Chinese photographer Chen Man 9 years ago caused public outrage.
This photo is titled "Arrogant Reserve". In the picture, an Asian woman is holding a Dior classic Dior bag.
But a closer look reveals that the model’s slender squinted eyes, jet-black eyeshadow, dull and freckled face, greasy hair, and wearing Qing armor...
"Arrogant Reservation" by Chen Man
Many netizens said one after another:
"There is no beauty at all";
"Art can be unpopular, but not evil"...
More netizens asked,
"Is this a Qing zombie?"
"Is this the Chinese women in the eyes of luxury brands?"
Image source: Screenshot of Xiaohongshu
Many netizens picked up a set of cover photos called "China's Twelve Colors" taken by Chen Man in 2012.
She thinks that the female models under her lens not only fail to show the beauty of Chinese women,
On the contrary, it is more like the stereotyped image of Easterners in the eyes of Westerners.
Image source: Beijing Daily
Photographer Chen Man called himself an "international fashion photographer and visual artist" in his Weibo profile.
Graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, she is particularly good at character modeling and post-production. Her photographic styles are unbelievable and have a strong visual impact.
Chen Man has shot covers for many magazines, and stars such as Faye Wong, Zhang Ziyi, Yang Mi, Angelababy, Yi Qianxi, Lu Han have worked with her.
Her work has been featured in hot searches many times, and has also been regarded as a "Queen Photographer" by many celebrities.
Chen Man Weibo Introduction
Some netizens sorted out the blockbuster films and daily selfies that Chen Man took to the stars, which were in line with the public's aesthetics, and did not take the lead. They questioned why Chen Man took such "ugly" photos of Chinese women to cater to the abnormal Western aesthetics.
It is worth mentioning that in an interview, Chen Man once mentioned that he embodies Chinese culture in Western fashion language.
"Basically, learning from the middle school for the body, and learning from the west for the use."
Chen Man’s celebrity portraits posted on Weibo are accused of conforming to the public’s aesthetics
Currently, Dior has deleted this photo on multiple platforms.
But public opinion is still fermenting. As of press time, the brand and photographer Chen Man have not yet responded to this matter.
With the improvement of China's economy, the Chinese market has become a piece of cake for many luxury brands.
Recently, Bain Consulting and the Italian Luxury Association jointly released the 20th edition of "Bain Luxury Research".
The report points out: The Chinese market is becoming increasingly important in the luxury goods industry. Its share of the global market has increased from 11% in 2019 to 21% in 2021. It is expected that by 2025, this proportion will reach 25% to 27%.
Data map: Consumers line up to buy luxury goods. Photo by Zhang Hengwei
Despite making a lot of money in China, the aesthetics of luxury brands, the arrogance and prejudice against Chinese aesthetics still exist.
"Are you holding one in each hand and cutting a piece of pizza like a knife? No, no, you just grab a piece of pizza like tongs and send it directly into your mouth."
In 2018, the Italian luxury brand Dolce & Gabbana (Dolce & Gabbana) posted several advertisements on social networking sites, the content is "Eating with chopsticks".
In the advertisement, the model showed how to eat Pizza, Italian sweet rolls, pasta, etc. with chopsticks. The arrogant tone of the film and the strange posture of the model with the chopsticks caused huge controversy, which was considered to discriminate against traditional Chinese culture.
Image source: Weibo screenshot
In 2019, British luxury brand Burberry (Burberry)'s New Year advertising photos, although invited stars to join, but because of the cool style of the photos, netizens ridiculed it not like a family portrait, more like a posthumous photo.
In 2020, French luxury brand Balenciaga launched Chinese-style Tanabata products, with earthy slogans, earthy shapes and unconcerned designs. Compared with the price of tens of thousands of dollars for a bag, it was criticized as "want to make quick money." He doesn't respect Chinese culture in the slightest. Instead, he treats spoofs as fun."
Image source: Weibo screenshot
Regrettably, these luxury brands have not settled down to understand and study Chinese traditional culture and aesthetics.
What they care more about is how to make more money from Chinese consumers.
We emphasize the diversification of aesthetics and encourage cultural tolerance. Although there are thousands of styles of beauty, it is definitely not a stereotype based on arrogance and prejudice, and aesthetics is not an appreciation of ugliness.
This time, I hope Dior can come out and take two steps to explain.