Qipao Is The New Black

History has a tendency of repeating itself and no where does that sentiment resonate more true than in the fashion industry. While ankle breaking platforms continually cycle in and out of season at a pace so fast that even Disco Stu’s head is left spinning, a more gentle cycle has peaked again amongst young Chinese women. The Qipao is back, baby, and looking better than ever.

Not only is the economic surge here putting more red paper in pockets, it is also resurrecting a love for all things intrinsically Chinese, and it makes perfect sense. The Olympics are hot, the economy is hot, art is hot, so, on the “all things hot barometer”, native inspired clothing is the next logical point. This isn’t the first time, however, that the qipao tried to bring sexy back. Previous efforts to market the idiosyncratic cut didn’t fare so well as Gucci and Armani can testify to when, in 2003, they debuted collections of Chinese-themed couture that created a stir around the world but was met with resistance in China as their lines and other clothing designed with overt Chinese characteristics were labeled as something that only foreigners would wear. To overcome this hurdle, designers and brands had to appropriate cultural norms into fabrics with a fresh outlook. One interesting case study is the story of Hong Kong based Shanghai Tang. According to the Wall Street Journal:

The quintessential Chinese luxury brand was launched in 1994 as a custom-tailoring business in Hong Kong. In 1996, the store began to make ready-to-wear fashions — traditional Chinese styles in brightly colored silks — to appeal to well-heeled, mostly Western, tourists. But when the company opened a New York boutique in 1997, its array of clothes and knickknacks smacked of costumery and worse, tchotchkes one could buy in Chinatown. The store struggled — less than two years after it opened, it moved to a much smaller space. The company learned it had to evolve to stay relevant to modern tastes.

“Quintessential Chinese luxury brand” may be a slightly loose interpretation by the Journal as a majority share of Shanghai Tang was bought by power-house Richemont in 1998, and the creative director who eventually shook things up and brought the brand into the forefront is Singaporean-American, Joanne Ooi. Not to be pedantic, of course, it is a turn around that serves as a statistically interesting bit of trend-forecasting for the modern qipao as, according to the chairman of the board of Shanghai Tang, Raphael le Masne de Chermont, “about 40% to 45% of its shoppers world-wide are ethnic Chinese” whereas Chinese buyers in 2002 only figured at 20%. That’s fair enough as one can see that wearing this culture based couture is a fine line as you either end up looking like you stepped out of the pages of Vogue or you end up looking like you’ve dressed up a bit too early for Halloween. As always, subtlety is key. So how does the woman on the street tell if she’s committed a faux pas? A good litmus test for those who want to brave a nouveau qipao come Spring/Summer is to hang around a Chinese restaurant, and, if someone asks you about their reservations, that just might be the hint you need.

Image: Shanghai Tang and not Shanghai Tang