For a long time now, many Westerners' conception of the typical Chinese has been Fu Manchu, a sneaky, conniving film character who has hardly been an appealing representative of China.
Recently, however, the Oscar-winning film The Last Emperor has stirred up a craze for things Chinese everywhere it had been shown. And how could t he ever-sensitive fashion industry not pick up on the trend?
Here in Taiwan, department stores, which has always appealed to their customers with imported products and Western-style designs, began to reflect: Why not find a model in our own culture? And women who have watched their daughters grow up playing with foreign-featured Barbie dolls have come u p with the idea of creating a playmate for Chinese children in their own image.
Finding forms for Chinese people and bringing our gaze back home seems to be already under way in our country, and women's fashion and the department store industry are leading the pace. Let's take a look at what they've been doing....
[Picture Caption]
The Last Emperor set off a China fever and led many fashion designers to adopt motifs form Ch'ing dynasty dress in their creations. (photo courtesy of Hsin Hua Motion Picture Co., Ltd.)