I liken the aesthetic in China to that of a person with no money that just won the lottery. The first thing they do is buy everything that is silky and shiny. In this case, good taste becomes very subjective. Those on the receiving end become subject to really bad, over the top, ostentatious crap. There is no place where this is more evident than in Shanghai and more clearly manifested than in Shanghainese fashion.
Shanghai is like Hong Kong in the early eighties. There is so much “flash” because it’s now the financial center of China. With all this “flow” people are embracing consumerism with arms wide open and eyes shut tight. To exponentially exacerbate the issue, if you can’t afford the exorbitant prices of Western goods, no worries, there are multiple stores on every corner that sell knock offs and fakes.
There is a fashion designer that once said the way you dress is to put your whole ensemble together, do a quick turn in front of a full length mirror and whatever catches your eye first, remove. In Shanghai I think it’s the opposite. I think they get dressed in the dark.
I took the bus this morning to work and as I looked around, everyone was wearing multiple items of name brand fakes and nothing matched. It was a smorgasbord of fake Prada shoes, Gucci handbags, Versace sunglasses….its revolting! Then there’s how everything is put together. The guys go for this 80’s punk rock look with the ripped jeans and tattered shirts yet have a little cutesy puppy dog doll hanging from their cell phone. Not only that, they have a cool Celine Dion ringtone too! Then there are the girls. They dress with a ton of accessories, really short shorts and high heals and everything is tight fitting. They have no idea of the slutty connotation (maybe they do…who knows). I think women have been silenced so long that they are using their cloths to scream their sexuality. To bad they are screaming silently with no real message.
Clothing has always been an expression of who we are. I was once told by my art history professor that if you ever want to figure out who you are or where you are in life, open up your closet and ask your cloths. China and the Chinese are still trying to figure out who they are, where they are and where they are going……
…to be continued…..
Shanghai is like Hong Kong in the early eighties. There is so much “flash” because it’s now the financial center of China. With all this “flow” people are embracing consumerism with arms wide open and eyes shut tight. To exponentially exacerbate the issue, if you can’t afford the exorbitant prices of Western goods, no worries, there are multiple stores on every corner that sell knock offs and fakes.
There is a fashion designer that once said the way you dress is to put your whole ensemble together, do a quick turn in front of a full length mirror and whatever catches your eye first, remove. In Shanghai I think it’s the opposite. I think they get dressed in the dark.
I took the bus this morning to work and as I looked around, everyone was wearing multiple items of name brand fakes and nothing matched. It was a smorgasbord of fake Prada shoes, Gucci handbags, Versace sunglasses….its revolting! Then there’s how everything is put together. The guys go for this 80’s punk rock look with the ripped jeans and tattered shirts yet have a little cutesy puppy dog doll hanging from their cell phone. Not only that, they have a cool Celine Dion ringtone too! Then there are the girls. They dress with a ton of accessories, really short shorts and high heals and everything is tight fitting. They have no idea of the slutty connotation (maybe they do…who knows). I think women have been silenced so long that they are using their cloths to scream their sexuality. To bad they are screaming silently with no real message.
Clothing has always been an expression of who we are. I was once told by my art history professor that if you ever want to figure out who you are or where you are in life, open up your closet and ask your cloths. China and the Chinese are still trying to figure out who they are, where they are and where they are going……
…to be continued…..
1 comment:
hey...don't knock the short skirts.
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