This summer, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York welcomed the thriving China with its gorgeous dresses. More than 140 classic garments and artworks were displayed. “China: Through the Looking Glass”, which overwhelmed the show of Alexander McQueen, has become the most visited exhibition in Met. From the exhibition, we may have a glimpse of how Chinese aesthetic influenced modern Western fashion.

However, some critics argued that “the exhibition is a big, beautiful lie.” (1)Since what were showed in the exhibition was “a collective fantasy, a unified language of shared signs.”(2) It didn’t reflect the reality and the real existence in China, but some imaginations towards this exotic country. And even in Chinese, “Though the looking glass” means the flower within mirror and the moon on water. It’s the implication of unreal and fancied scene. We may be confused: is this exhibition a neo-Orientalism product?

Orientalism, is a term introduced by Edward Said in 1978. “In Said's analysis, the West essentializes these societies as static and undeveloped—thereby fabricating a view of Oriental culture that can be studied, depicted, and reproduced. From then on, "Orientalism" refers to a patronizing Western attitude towards Middle Eastern, Asian and North African societies” (5)

The imagination and curiosity towards the Far-East nation was the result of cultural and economic exchange between the oriental and the occidental. Initially, thanks to the Silk Trade, scholars, merchants and priests from western countries flooded into the nation seeking for knowledge and mainly, fortunes. When they came back home, they brought not only precious textile, arts but also fancy stories. Therefore, the long rooted imagination of this Far East country was the outcome of the economic and cultural exchange activities nearly two thousand years ago. Later on, thanks to the development of media and technology, from books, magazines to radio, TV and internet, people from different parts of the world, obtained more information than ever before. Nowadays, people shape their images of the other nation mainly by films and the internet. “Cinema often serves as a conduit for this reciprocal exchange between East and West”(4). Hence, we may discover that some fashion designers, instead of focusing on a real Chinese figure, unconsciously affected by the dazzling Chinese cinema characters. In the exhibition, a few classic scenes of Wong Kar Wai’s movies were displayed. For instance, John Galliano, Tom Ford and Ralph Laurent were inspired by the archetype of dragon lady and lotus flower, regarding the film of Anna May Wong.(1)

We may also observe that, basing on their perception, instead of understanding the philosophy and cultural code of the nation, western designers interpreted the eastern aesthetic by simply implementing oriental signs and symbols into their designs, as what was written by Ma Muyuan.(5) From dragon, the color: royal yellow and red to ceramics patterns, they urged to put all the Chinese elements on their garments. Yet, designers are not alone on the path. Many superstars and models overdressed and over-interpreted the subtle and modest Chinese aesthetic in the Met Gala night. In fact, nowadays, although people are able to obtain information globally, the difference of ideologies and cultures was imprinted on our DNA.

But if human beings just root on their original land, rather than taking adventures and communicating with people from different cultural backgrounds, civilization and culture would not have been developed.

In the catalogue of the exhibition, the renowned curator Andrew Bolton mentioned that China: Through the Looking Glass was “the positivistic examination of Orientalism”.(3) A review from a famous Chinese editor indicated that “on one hand, people were surprised by the delicate garments and arts. On the other hand, some of them may also recognize that the major parts of the displays belong to western haut couture houses instead of Chinese designers or brands. Moreover, these designs mainly focused on the symbols or dress code of an “ancient” China. To find a modern Chinese dress (after the year of 1978) among these 140 displays is a tough task. The modern development of Chinese dress was neglected. ”( translation, Ma Muyuan (1)) In this case, we have to admit the fact that, what were displayed in the exhibition was merely the selective western perception of China, as for Chinese designers or even normal audiences, we may assume that the position of “ Design in China” is still less powerful than the infamous label “ Made in China”. The fashion industry in China is thriving but the majority of customers still favor the international big brands. The period of mass production was almost passed, due to the increased labor cost. But manual workers and artisans still struggle in their lives and don’t earn enough respect and support. The exhibition was a great opportunity for us to stand back, to observe, to learn, what is our weakness and shortcomings, what needed to be improved and what aspect needed to be reformed and reconstructed.

We accept and understand the difference between us, instead of standing on the same place, we would like to depart, to explore, to take challenges. “Individuals think better while standing on their heads, and destinations by walking in the opposite direction.” (3)

 

Reference

(1) Robin Givhan, The fantasy of China: Why the new Met exhibition is a big, beautiful lie, The Washington Post, 5 May, 2015, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/style-blog/wp/2015/05/05/the-fantasy-of-china-why-the-new-met-exhibition-is-a-big-beautiful-lie/  ( accessed 2 Nov,2015)

(2) Andrew Bolton with John Galliano, Adam Geczy, Maxwell K. Hearn, Homay King, Harold Koda, Mei Mei Rado, and Wong Kar Wai ( 7 May, 2015)  China: Through the Looking Glass , Yale University Press, New Haven and London, p21

(3) Ibid., p.16

(4) Ibid., p.18

(5)Orientalism, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orientalism (accessed 2 Nov,2015)

马牧原( Ma Muyuan) ,大都会博物馆“中国”展：西方对中国艺术的幻觉 ,( Met Exhibition of China: the Western Illusion to Chinese Art ) 16 July, 2015

http://cn.businessoffashion.com/2015/07/op-ed-met-china-exhibition-west-illusion-on-chinese-art-cn.html  ( accessed 2 Nov, 2015)