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‘Phoenix eyes’ on catwalk of mainland academy’s fashion gala draw fire for insulting China

蘋果日報 2021/06/21 06:55


The arts academy at China’s most prestigious university found itself under attack after models used at a graduation fashion show were deemed to be pandering to a Western stereotype of oriental beauty.
The Academy of Arts & Design at Tsinghua University held the show titled “The Door Opener” in Beijing on May 20.
Some netizens accused the university of humiliating China after a video of the event on YouTube showed that most of the models either had an eye shape known as phoenix eyes, or were using eyeliner to present the same appearance.
The eye shape, which is identified by a slight upward lift at the outer corner of the eye, is considered a desirable facial feature. However, some people regard it as a harmful stereotype reinforced by Western culture and the fashion industry.
One influential blogger on Weibo, China’s dominant social media platform, said that because this look conforms with the stereotypes of ethnic Asians it carries a meaning of serious humiliation.
Hong Kong fashion designer William Tang told Apple Daily that the show’s choice of models with phoenix eyes may have been part of the designer’s concept and did not necessarily show any intent to “insult China.”
Such preconceived notions should be dismissed as soon as possible, Tang said, adding that designers do not necessarily make decisions just to curry favor with foreigners.
“If this is regarded as insulting China, then it would be better for all fashion shows to not use ethnic Chinese as models.” Tang said.
Tang added that sometimes, Westerners would lose interest if a model was seen as looking too much like a doll, because this is a characteristic more commonly seen in Caucasian people. So when designers choose Asian models, they will aim for a different style.
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