The Glorient Issue #01 by RUnaomikwok

WINTER 2019 | TORONTO

#01 RENEE TSE on the cover

The CHINA Issue

the GLORIENT the GLORIENT the GLORIENT the GLORIENT the GLORIENT the GLORIENT the GLORIENT the GLORIENT the GLORIENT the GLORIENT the GLORIENT the GLORIENT the GLORIENT the GLORIENT the GLORIENT the GLORIENT the GLORIENT the GLORIENT the GLORIENT the GLORIENT the GLORIENT the GLORIENT the GLORIENT the GLORIENT 2

T T T T T T T T T T T T

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

NICE TO MEET YOU NAOMI KWOK Editor in Chief, Art Director, Editorial Stylist, Editorial Designer, and everything else

JANICE LIU Copy Editor

SPECIAL THANKS TO Professor Daniel Drak Renee Tse @tseparfait

ello! I am Naomi — an aspiring multidisciplinary creative with a passion for visual

storytelling. I am deeply committed to helping establish an open dialogue between culture, purpose, and narrative in all aspects of creative work.

In 2018, Crazy Rich Asians enjoyed unprecedented success. It shed light on and sparked

a revolution against the fact that Hollywood, and the Western world in general, has had a history of misrepresenting and underrepresenting Asians.

As a veteran fangirl of East Asia’s diverse pop culture for over 10 years, who is also East Asian Canadian (born in Canada, raised in Hong Kong), I have witnessed a similar change — East Asian celebrities are getting more and more popular.

These changes have inspired purpose for my academic and creative explorations, marking the end of my four-year undergrad.

Graduating this Spring with a Bachelor of Design major in Fashion Communication at Ryerson University, I present to you the product of my “blood, sweat, and tears” (lowkey reference to the BTS hit — shout out to my ARMY friends out there) in the past year.

The “Glorient” is a portmanteau of global, glory, and orient — a creation of my own! It is also a transmedia awareness project that presents the escalation of East Asia’s global purview.

Luxury brands have already capitalized on the star power of East Asian celebrities. This is evident in an upsurge in endorsements and attendance at fashion weeks and events.

This project ultimately aims to reveal a new opportunity for increased collaborations between East Asian celebrities and luxury brands, enhance market appeal of contemporary East Asian pop culture, and in turn, inspire more collaborations in the future.

The Glorient is an authentic representation of East Asian heritage in today’s global mediascape, a celebration of East Asian pop culture and people. Glory in the Global East!

YOURS TRULY, NAOMI KWOK

THE CHINA REVAMP

CHINA POPS IN 2018

An overview of Chinese pop culture after the Cultural Revolution in 1978

Just in case you missed 2018’s milestones for Chinese pop artists

1 4 26

CHINESE ICONS YOU NEED TO KNOW

INTERVIEW WITH RENEE TSE

5 Chinese fashion icons — both familiar and upcoming — you need to know

Meet The Kit Chinese’s Editor

CULTURAL OVERVIEW

THE CHINA REVAMP Chinese pop culture perhaps began with cinema. The history of Chinese cinema can be traced as

far back as 1905 — only three years from the first movie ever created. It could be said that China was

on the fast track towards the movie industry, hav-

ing experienced two golden ages in 1930s and 1940s lours and symbolic use of landscapes, represented before the Communist Party came into power and a big break from preceding Chinese cinema and

took the industry into their hands. Yet, the Cultural put Chinese cinema at the forefront of the interRevolution marked a brutal crackdown on Chinese national art-houses and film festivals for the very creative industry, halting film production altogether first time. for over a decade until 19781.

Coming into the 21st century, the radical change to a market economy significantly impacted Chinese

cultural systems. The flow of capital, information, technologies, people, cultures and ideas reached unprecedented levels, especially evidenced in the TV industry3.

THE NEW CULTURE OF THE 21ST CENTURY In 1978, “China Central Television” (CCTV) became

China’s state-run television station. Television

sets began to become popular in the early 1980s, spreading into most households by the late 1990s.

In 1983, the Spring Festival gala was officially

launched by CCTV. Since then, it has become a Illustration: Joe Lo

C HINA’S OPEN DOOR In December 1978, China’s Communist Party advo-

milestone for China’s TV programs and watching

the CCTV Spring Festival Gala on New Year’s Eve has become a custom in China4.

cated for a new disposition and marked a watershed

Drama series became the fastest-growing, pre-

opening-up policy launched recovery from the

In the mid 1990s, many provincial TV channels

in contemporary Chinese history. Deng Xiaoping’s

wreckage of the Cultural Revolution. China’s open door has transformed itself from a backward, agrarian economy and politically isolated state into the

dominant form of entertainment for the Chinese. gained access to satellite transmission, furthering the domestic TV industry.

world’s second-largest economy2.

CCTV and other provincial TV channels have not

Following the end of Cultural Revolution, the

also the most popular source for family entertain-

“Fifth Generation” Chinese filmmakers Chen Kaige, Zhang Yimou, and Tian Zhuangzhuang were the

first group of students admitted to the Beijing Film Academy. Their 1990s films, marked by dazzling co-

only been a platform for news and information but ment . TV has become the undisputed leader of the

so-called “cultural industries”. And TV culture is

considered to be the basis of the “new culture of the new century”5.

CULTURAL OVERVIEW NEW MASSES The new masses consist mostly of middle classes in urban center, who have been both the major pro-

ducers and consumers of Chinese pop culture. They

show a keen interest in all new trends, ideas and experiments in society. Their lives are also reflected on screen.

The shifts in power and influence in the family

may be read as a metaphor for the social changes in China. Another dimension of the new masses

phenomenon includes changes in the values of low income Chinese people in face of urbanization.

China has the world’s largest middle class, as well as the world’s largest population of billionaires. Their lives today have nothing in

limited access to fashion, pop culture and celebrity information from around the world.

“It’s a totally different generation. You need to

know how their mind works and how you influ-

ence them and who influences them. It’s the ‘Me Generation.’ It’s about my identity, it’s about my feelings, it’s about how I see the world. They’re not just a younger version [of the existing consumer],”

said Vogue China editor-in-chief Angelica Cheung at BoF’s Voices7.

CHINESE HOME-GROWN CELEBRITIES In 2019, China now embraces an integrated land-

scape of Asia-Pacific stars. From the Greater China Region, Hong Kong and Taiwan, to Japan and Korea, many regional

common with those of

overseas celebrities have

rural Chinese. They are

fan followings in main-

born into interconnected

land China8.

booming urban centres that are

a part of the globalization process.

Although celebrity culture in China

As a result, urban life has taken pride of

is a much newer phenomenon, top ac-

place and replaced rural life on television.

tresses like Fan Bingbing, Li Bingbing, Zhang Ziyi, and Zhou Xun have each

Chinese, and also Asian audiences, seem to share pop culture products, which may be a consequence of globalization. In Japanese, Korean, and Chinese pop idol soap operas, view-

ers find similar love stories, similar

depictions of luxurious lifestyles, pretty faces, chic clothes, big houses and flashy sedans, all elements of the city life Asian youth dream of today5.

Even after Deng Xiaoping’s reform and openingup period in the late 1970s, the ﬁrst generation to

beneﬁt from China’s “economic miracle” was conservative in both style and spending, with immense pressure to save and invest in large purchases such

as a house and a car — both exceedingly expensive in China’s main cities, particularly in relation to average wages6.

However, those born 1990 onwards (known in China as the “Post-90s”), the babies of China’s one child policy, not only have a larger discretionary

income than previous generations, but largely un-

partnered with fashion and luxury

Sou rce : Bo F

brands. Some have enjoyed greater

success than others but none have

You Tub e

challenged the conventional mould for a muse like pop singer Li Yuchun9.

Mainland China is coming up with its home-grown

celebrities outside the traditional entertainment industry too. Lang Lang, the international concert pianist, and Yao Ming, the NBA basketball player, are examples that come to mind.

China’s new love for celebrities has gone multime-

dia. Glossy showbiz magazines fill the newsstands, vying for space with newspapers offering ample

doses of celebrity gossip. Online, one of China’s leading search engines, Sina.com, has reported

that six of its eight most popular blogs are centered on mainland pop singers, Taiwanese actresses and other superstars10.

CULTURAL OVERVIEW Broadcast media have joined the rush. China got its

own version of “Access Hollywood,” a popular U.S. television show delivering news about the rich, famous and beautiful, in 2009. Distributed by NBC

Universal Television, the Chinese version has a potential audience of 300 million viewers, providing a

dash of news about famous foreigners but focusing

TF BOYS

primarily on Chinese stars10.

Source: TF Entertainment

LITTLE FRESH MEAT IDOLS The latest phenomenon of “little fresh meat” is changing China’s pop culture. ‘Little fresh meat’ is a buzzword that went viral in 2014, used to describe

young good-looking celebrity heartthrobs who are generally born after 1990. They are often on the rise, and effeminate.

Today, the popularity of “little fresh meat” is contested to be the result of a new generation of young women who enjoy much financial freedom and buying power of luxury goods. Luxury brands are

now recruiting them to cater to the female con-

sumers and capitalization their star power more than ever before11.

Like a lot of things about Chinese pop culture, these

A recent white paper published by influencer mar-

can be traced to the classic 2001 Taiwanese drama

influencers with the highest reach in China are all

national idols are a foreign import. Their provenance

Meteor Garden, which offered up the direct ancestors to today’s “little fresh meat”. Telling the story of a clique of four handsome, rich, and arrogant boys

keting agency, Wearisma, revealed that the top 10

traditional celebrities, with the highest engagement rates universally garnered by male singers12.

called the F4 who rule the college campus, Meteor

Garden centered the female gaze in a way no Asian drama had before.

CULTURAL OVERVIEW

Source: VCG

REALITY SHOWS MEANS FAME Reality TV has become a wildly popular genre, with

more than 100 such programmes broadcast on networks across mainland China. Nine of the 10 most popular programmes in 2016 were reality shows.

The power of celebrity fandom culture among Chi-

Another factor is the rapid growth of the livestreaming video market, which has attracted a rush of investment from Chinese tech giants like

Tencent, Baidu, and Weibo. It was worth 20.8 billion RMB ($3 billion) in 2016, and has increased by 180 percent on the previous year.

nese Millennials is the driving force. Unlike Western

In about a decade, China has gone from no iPhones

real celebrities, not “real” non-famous people.

phone and high-speed internet.

TV, reality shows in China predominantly feature

sold on Chinese soil to everyone having a smart-

Reality TV, along with the explosion of social me-

The Rap of China was first launched by China’s

(influencer economy), in which highly-engaged

gust 2017. It features four celebrity judges, including

dia, has fostered China’s “wang hong economy” fans not only invest in their idols’ concert or movie tickets, but also products they endorse.

According to China Daily’s citation of CBN Data, the “wang hong economy” was worth around RMB 58 billion ($8.7 billion) last year, more than China’s cinema box office the year prior. In fact, experts say

Chinese shoppers are more open to these kinds of product plugs than their western counterparts.

largest online video hosting website, iQiyi, in Au-

the very own Kris Wu, given the task of guiding a cast of young rappers. The now two-season in show is said to be one of the most expensive reality shows with a budget of $30 million. The premiere drew over 100 million viewers within the first four

hours. But by the time the first season finale came

around, viewership had surpassed 300 million. The show has also turned streetwear labels, worn

by the celebrity judges and competing rappers,

like Off-White, Vetements, and Supreme into household names in China13.

CULTURAL OVERVIEW CHALLENGES POSED BY THE GOVERNMENT Reality shows have been censored by the Chinese

government. In late 2016, China enforced a ban on

entertainment that promotes Western lifestyles and celebrities, or pokes fun at Chinese values. This includes reality shows, which some authori-

ties have said are not “meaningful.” The Rap of

China has faced the wrath of censors, although not every live-streaming platform or show has been

affected by these measures. Still, many are op-

timistic about the growing opportunity in reality television, claiming that reality TV is a gateway for brands to reach consumers13.

The communist government also has a history of

LITTLE FRESH MEAT LITTLE FRESH MEAT LITTLE FRESH MEAT LITTLE FRESH MEAT LITTLE FRESH MEAT

sanctioning crackdowns on celebrities who possess

Another challenge faced by Chinese celebrities

Fan Bingbing serves as a case in point. In January

last year. The nation’s top media regulator, the

ostentatious wealth. The public fall of the actress

this year, she released a public mea culpa for tax evasion after disappearing from the public for three

months. Although the bona fide offence is tax eva-

sion, celebrities like Fan have been thwarted by the Chinese government because they do not uphold

and promote “wholesome Chinese values”. However, the profits and sales Chinese celebrities can

generate, even short-term, are attractive enough

for brands to take a leap of faith in choosing them as their endorsers12.

HIP HOP BAN HIP HOP BAN HIP HOP BAN HIP HOP BAN HIP HOP BAN

is the “hip-hop ban” which took effect January

State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television of the People’s Republic

of China (SAPPRFT), “specifically requires that

programs should not feature actors with tattoos [or depict] hip hop culture, sub-culture, and dispirited

culture.” The first-season winner of “Rap of China” GAI was removed from Hunan TV’s “I Am A

Singer” fresh off his victory, and also wiped from

China Hunan TV’s official Youtube Channel with no official explanation14.

Whilst a “hip-hop ban” has been imposed, some

high ranking Chinese authorities deem that an-

drogynous men especially “little fresh meat” idols are “poisoning China’s youth” and are emblematic

of a “sick culture”. China’s influential state media

Xinhua subsequently published a critical editorial

slamming the portrayal of men in Chinese media, claiming that “sissy pants” or “little fresh meats” are hurting China’s national image. Although

Party-run news outlet People’s Daily was quick to disagree, arguing that terms such as “sissy

pants” are highly derogatory, these effeminate young idols may still risk their careers like their hip-hop counterparts15.

1. Ainhoa Marzol Aranburu, “The Film Industry in China: Past and Present,” Journal of Evolutionary Studies in Business 2, no. 1 (2017). 2. Cary Huang, “Over 40 years of diplomatic drama, a rising China opens up to, and transforms, the world,” SCMP, Nov 14, 2018. 3. Cowan, Noah. “A Century of Chinese Cinema: an introduction,” BFI, Jun 3, 2014. 4. Ye Qing. “Glorious Jiazi: Accomplishments of China’s Television industry since 1958,” CGTN, Sept 27, 2018. 5. “Pop culture goes global,” China Daily, Jun 10, 2003. 6. Casey Hall. “Kris Wu: China’s Influencer ‘Triple Threat’” BoF, Oct 18, 2017. 7. Sherman, Lauren, and Robb Young. “Tapping Generation X.” BoF, Sept 20, 2017. 8. George Gao. “Why Is China So… Uncool?” Foreign Policy, Mar 8. 2018. 9. Robb Young “The Digital Asia Effect,” BoF, Sept 29, 2015. 10. Ted Plaker “There’s another boom in China: Culture of celebrity grows apace,” NY Times, Jun 27, 2008. 11. Jessica Rapp. “China’s ‘little fresh meat’ teen male heartthrobs milk their fame to sell fashion and beauty products to young women,” SCMP, Jul 3, 2018. 12. Casey Hall, and Zoe Suen. “China’s Celebrity Ambassador Minefield,” BoF, Nov 7, 2018. 13. Kati Chitrakorn, “Chinese Reality Shows Boost Brands,” BoF, Dec 4, 2017. 14. Casey Quackenbush and Aria Chen, “‘Tasteless, Vulgar and Obscene.’ China Just Banned Hip-Hop Culture and Tattoos From Television,” Times, Jan 22, 2018. 15. Matthew Keegan, “China’s ‘Little Fresh Meat’ Idols Spark Masculinity Debate,” Culture Trip, Sept 25, 2018.

ACHIEVEMENTS

CHINA POPS POPS IN

2018

Source: VCG

KRIS WU MAKING FIRSTS Remember this name because you are going to see

it again! Wu Yifan, also known Kris Wu, is the one person you should know in C-Pop.

Since his glorious return home after leaving the

Korean-Chinese K-Pop supergroup EXO, he has been non-stoppable. As a Chinese star, he has

broken many records and 2018 was another year of success for him.

In March 2018, Forbes announced that Wu was ap-

pointed one of the 29 judges tasked to curate the 2018 list of standout young talents from the Enter-

tainment & Sports sector in Asia (after making to the list himself in 2017)! In May, his single “Like That” entered the 73rd place on the Billboard Hot 100 — a first time ever for Chinese artists!

His latest album “Antares” also landed on top spots on iTunes US within 5 hours of release, blocking

major acts like Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga. De-

spite many breakthroughs as an Asian in the West, his chart performance has been caught in the center of controversy with accusations that the singer is using bots to drive sales.

Though Apple made the decision to not count his sales towards the iTunes chart, Grande’s manager Scooter Braun has come forward to let fans know

that Wu’s chart performance was simply a result of impatient Chinese fans who “trespassed” onto

iTunes US store. Tech savvy fans used VPNs to access the iTunes US store before its official drop in Asia in order to prepare this surprising gift for his

birthday on the 6th. Quoting Braun, “This is just the first time of many achievements for you [Kris]!”2

ACHIEVEMENTS G.E.M. IS UNIVERSALLY HOT Coming into her 11th year since her debut in 2008,

this 28-year-old diva did not only make it globally but universally! Last year, G.E.M. was invited by

NASA Ames Research Center to perform for the 7th Breakthrough Prize and present the Breakthrough Junior Challenge Prize in November. At this re-

nowned event, she performed her self-composed track “Light Years Away” which is completely

written in Chinese. In the same year, she became

the only Chinese person to make it on the list of BBC 100 Women, ranking 34th. BBC commented,

“G.E.M. is a top-selling female musician who uses

her influence to support charities and organisations dedicated to music, education and poverty.”

Congratulations to G.E.M. on her worldwide — arguably universal — success!3

Source: Hummingbird Music Limited

LAY ASPIRES TO PERFORM AT THE GRAMMY Zhang Yixing, aka Lay, is a Chinese singer-song-

writer who is (still) part of the Korean-Chinese K-pop megagroup EXO. (He is the only Chinese

member left in the group as the aforementioned Kris Wu, Luhan, and Tao have all left.) When he

made his solo debut “What U Need” in 2016 as a Chinese artist, his music video was the fastest to

hit a million views on YouTube within 21 hours. In

2017, his second album “SHEEP” ranked 9th on the iTunes Worldwide chart — the first time ever for a Chinese artist to be in the top 10!3

Last year, his album “NAMANANA” debuted on

the Billboard 200 as the highest-charting album ever released stateside by a Mandopop artist2. Two months ago, he was officially invited to the 61st Grammy Awards as an ambassador of FM Dongguan

101. The invitation was announced by China Mu-

sic Vision, a Chinese partner of the The Recording Academy for GRAMMY-branded entertainment and educational initiatives. On the red carpet, Zhang

kept his look simple, clothed in all black rocking a delicate piece of jewelry5.

Source: Lay Zhang’s Studio

ACHIEVEMENTS

Source: Vogue Me

JACKSON THE NEXT BIG THING Like Wu, Jackson Wang is a Chinese K-pop star.

Debuting in 2014 as one of the seven members of

GOT7, the Hong Kong-born, South Korea-based Jackson did not have to leave his group to pursue a solo career in China.

After a year of his debut, he made his first appear-

ance in Chinese broadcasting as a host alongside well-known television host He Jiong for the Chinese remake of the Korean variety show “Please Take Care of My Refrigerator”.

Gaining more exposure on Chinese variety shows, he finally released his first solo single “Generation 2” in 2017. His popularity was immediately recog-

nized and followed by invitations to international

award shows like the 2017 AMA and MTV EMA. In 2018, he made history for being the first Chinese

person to receive a Teen Choice Award. He was chosen as the Choice Next Big Thing!6

His collaboration with the Italian fashion house

Fendi “Fendiman” was released in May 2018.

“Fendiman” was the first namesake song offi-

cially produced for a fashion house to land on the number 1 spot on the iTunes US chart. In two categories: General List and Pop Music List!7 Jackson couldn’t be prouder!

ACHIEVEMENTS

HIGHER BROTHERS: CHINA’S HIP HOP Ever since the Chinese hip-hop quartet High Brothers slid onto the scene with the single “Made

In China” featuring Famous Dex in 2017, North American hip-hop fans have grown in endearment to this rising group. “Rappers React to High

Brothers” on 88rising’s YouTube channel showing Migos, Lil Yachty, and more rappers getting crazy over the release “Made In China” has furthered their stardom overseas.

In 2018, they had their first North American tour “Journey To The West” and have since continued

collaborated with many foreign musicians. Their journey in the West was even made into a documentary “16 Hours” by Emmy-winning director

Christine Yuan. They also made it to Forbes China’s

30 Under 30 in August the same year. Fast forward to 2019, they have released their second studio album “Five Stars” in February8.

Source: Tony Wu

1. Baidu Baike, s.v. “Wu Yifan 吴亦凡,” last modified Jan 24, 2019. 2. Herman, Tamar. “After Topping iTunes, Kris Wu’s ‘Antares’ Sales Come Under Scrutiny,” Forbes, Nov 8, 2018. 3. 黃梓恒, “鄧紫棋G.E.M.入選BBC「年度百大女性」被評為具影響力的音樂家,” HK01, Nov 19, 2018. 4. Baidu Baike, s.v. “Zhang Yixing 张艺兴,” last modified Jan 20, 2019. 5. Mehak Anwar, “Who Is Lay Zhang? The EXO Member Is Blowing Up On Twitter After His Grammys Debut,” Elited Daily, Feb 10, 2019. 6. Baidu Baike, s.v. “Wang Jiaer 王嘉尔,” last modified Jan 20, 2019. 7. Luisa Zargani, “‘Fendiman’ Is a Hit,” WWD, May 30, 2018. 8. Baidu Baike, s.v. “Higher Brothers,” last modified Feb 1, 2019.

CELEBRITY PROFILES

u i fan

6.5M Followers

@KRISWU Wu first debuted as the leader of SM entertain-

ment’s ambitious Chinese-Korean boy group EXO in 2012. However, his controversial departure from the group and return to China in 2014 was what marked his jump to stardom.

Shot by Mario Testino, Wu was the first male ce-

lebrity to grace Vogue China’s cover in 2015, posing alongside supermodel Kendall Jenner.

Later that year, he was the first Chinese actor invited to attend the Met Gala. Being the fourth most

tweeted celebrity of the event just behind Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Justin Bieber! Source: BoF

He also attended the 59th Grammy Awards in 20171.

Despite his musical endeavours, Wu is no stranger influential celebrity among Chinese Millennials, earning him the cover of #BoF 500 Print Edition

in both Chinese and English versions for two con-

secutive years. He is the only Asian face to make it

to the Print Edition and the only one who has been published in both languages.

Source:Kris Wu’s Weibo

AKA KRIS WU

to the fashion industry. He is perhaps the most

Source: Vogue China

BoF 500 2016-18

CELEBRITY PROFILES

In January 2016, Wu made his runway debut closing the Burberry AW 2016 menswear show. According to digital consultant agency L2, it was a “breaking the internet” event in China. Approximately one-third of fashion brand mentions on Weibo were about Burberry around the time of the show. Burberry marks his first official collaboration with luxury fashion.

Following the the success of his runway debut, he became Burberry’s first Chinese spokesmen. In November 2016, he even curated a capsule collection “The Kris Wu Edit” for Burberry 1.

Burberry’s partnership with Wu was proven to be a success.

While sales across-the-board slumped in 2016, a capsule edi-

tion in collaboration with Wu spurred huge demand from Asian consumers. Analysts reported that Wu’s campaign boosted Burberry’s sales and awareness with shoppers on the Chinese

Source: Marcus Tondo

Source:Burberry

social media channel WeChat.

A demographic analysis of Wu’s fans shows that Wu has three

times more female fans than male fans. Most of his female fans

are aged between 18 and 30 with high purchasing power, eager to purchase first-tier luxury brands such as Burberry and Chanel2.

In October last year, Wu was named the global ambassador for

Louis Vuitton. Compared to Burberry’s announcement three years ago which only received a couple hundred thousand shares, Louis Vuitton received two million in traffic in one day3.

Wu embodies luxury street wear — he’s the archetype of Abloh’s designs at both Off-White and Louis Vuitton — melding street, casual and luxury wear into one. He constantly pushes boundaries. If you thought Timothée Chalamet’s encrusted bib look at the

Source: Louis Vuitton

Golden Globes was revolutionary, Kris did it first at the Louis Vuitton’s “Volez Voguez Voyagez” exhibition in Shanghai in November last year, in a full plum look4.

Source:IC 1. Baidu Baike, s.v. “Wu Yifan 吴亦凡,” last modified Jan 24, 2019. 2. Lotus Ruan, “6 Male Luxury Brand Ambassadors in China You Need to Know,” Jing Daily, Oct 11, 2017. 3. Ruonan Zheng. “Is China Rap Superstar Kris Wu Too ‘Street’ for Louis Vuitton?” Jing Daily, Nov 1, 2018. 4. Soey Kim, “The Front-Row K-Pop Stars To Look Out For At The AW19 Shows,” Vogue UK, Jan 16, 2019.

CELEBRITY PROFILES

UHAN

11.3M Followers

@7_LUHAN_M Luhan is a familiar face in the fashion industry as well. He has continuously graced the covers of many major fashion magazines including GQ China, Harper’s Bazaar China, Elle China,

Marie Claire China, and Vogue Me.

In 2016, he landed the launch issue cover of Vogue Me, a sister publication of Vogue China aimed at a younger audience.

“[Luhan], with his personality and unique point of view, is an

authentic post-90s generation representative,” says the title’s editor-in-chief Angelica Cheung3.

Luxury brands that he represents or endorses include: Louis Vuitton, Cartier, L’Occitane en Provence, and Lancôme.

In 2015 of May, he released his solo album “Reloaded I” which went on to be the first to go Platinum in

mainland China. He is also the first Chinese singer to achieve a Double Platinum record, having sold

over 2 million copies. But it didn’t stop here — the

Source: Louis Vuitton

same album broke the Triple Platinum record in

BoF500 2016

less than a year.

Source: Luhan’s Weibo

Like Wu, Luhan was a former Chinese member of EXO. Following Kris’ footsteps, he terminated his contract and left the group in 2014.

However before leaving the group, his Weibo post in August 2014 had already received the most comments, holding the Guinness

World Record for the “Most Commented Weibo Post”. This record was only overthrown by himself in September 2015 with over 100

He is often dubbed the “Chinese Justin Bieber” by media due to

his comparably massive social media following and influence among younger generations2.

Source: Vogue Me

million comments1.

CELEBRITY PROFILES

On October 8, 2017, Luhan came out about his re-

lationship with the Chinese actress Guan Xiaotong

on Weibo. The unexpected announcement caused a temporary crash on the platform’s server and

grabbed the headlines of every Chinese media and social media outlet.

In 2016, luxury watch and jewelry brand Cartier

launched its “Juste Un Clou” campaign with Luhan, whom the brand described as “a new-generation idol full of positive energy” and “an all-around

popular artist”. This year, he was featured in the video campaign by Louis Vuitton to unveil the brand’s first smartwatch “Tambour Horizon”4.

Source: Luhan Bar Weibo

Source: Cartier

At the 25th anniversary party of Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, Audemars Piguet broke the news that

Luhan has been appointed their first Chinese ambassador through Weibo, attracting over 195k reposts though the brand only has 76k followers5.

LUHAN EFFECT 1. Baidu Baike, s.v. “Lu Han 鹿晗,” last modified Dec 3, 2018. 2. erry Colde, “Why China is Fixated on Singer Lu Han (And Brands are, too),” AdAge, Jun 21, 2016. 3. BoF, “Luhan,” accessed Feb 1, 2019. 4. Ruan. “6 Male Luxury Brand Ambassadors.” 5. @ 时尚芭莎,2018. Weibo Post, Jun 20, 2018.

Y CELEBRITY PROFILES

ang 612K Followers

@YANGMI MIMI912

Yang Mi is a Chinese actress, singer

and film producer. She is believed to be the most successful Chinese

actress today, with a net worth estimated at about $30 million as of September 2017.

Yang is a hot commodity among luxury brands and publications — she

has worked closely with Michael Kors since 2015 and was officially appointed their global ambassador in 2017.

She also currently stars in an Estée

Lauder campaign and has graced innumerable covers of major fashion magazines in China.

In 2017, Forbes China Celebrity 100

ranked the actress 3rd in the country based on both earnings and popularity.

Yang’s Weibo account alone reflects

her popularity within China and internationally, having amassed over 82 million followers on the social media network1.

Source:YangMi ‘s Weibo

BoF 500 2018

CELEBRITY PRFOILES

CBNData and Alibaba Group reported that the

actress had the most influence on consumer purchases in China in the first quarter of 20181.

During SS19 NYFW, Michael Kors organized a 90-minute fan meet-up event at its flagship store

at Rockefeller Center. The event attracted more

than 700 visitors, with fans purchasing the Whitney handbag in exchange for a chance to interact with Yang. This bag was in fact re-designed in black and

red by the actress for the Qixi — the Chinese Valentine’s Day’s collection!2

In February last year, Estée Lauder and the actress both took to their Weibo accounts to announce the

Source: Michael Kors

appointment of Yang as the China and Asia Pacf-

ics’ ambassador. This news attracted hundreds of comments. The brand even named a shade of their

lipstick after the actress, calling it the “Color of Yang Mi”3.

She also attended the 2017 Met Gala where Vogue praised her for “subverting the naked dress trend”. And of course, she was wearing a custom trompe l’oeil dress from Michael Kors4.

Most recently, Yang was also selected as one of the

four #SWWomen for Stuart Weitzman’s Spring

2019 campaign, posing alongside Kendall Jenner, Willow Smith, and Jean Campbell.

Source: Michael Kors

1. BoF, “Yang Mi,” accessed Febr 1, 2019. 2. Yiling Pan, “How Michael Kors Learned to Speak Chinese—And Sparked NYFW Sales,” Jing Daily, Sept 14, 2018. 3. Yiling Pan, “How Estée Lauder Rejuvenated Its Brand Image in China,” Jing Daily, Aug 24, 2017. 4. Janelle Okwodu, “How Yang Mi Subverted the Naked Dress Trend at the 2017 Met Gala,” Vogue, May 2, 2017.

Source: @yangmi_style Instragram

Source: Sina News

CELEBRITY PROFILES In June of the same year, she was photographed by Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel’s photo exhibition “The Little Black Jacket”2.

Rewind a month earlier (May 2013), she attended the Cannes

Film Festival wearing haute couture Givenchy — the first Asian celebrity to ever wear haute couture Givenchy. BoF called this a

Y uchun

turning point for Asian celebrities on the global red circuit 3.

She has since become a regular attendee of Cannes. Most re-

cently, Lee attended the 68th annual Cannes Film Festival for the sixth time where she was pictured in complete looks from Gucci and Jean Paul Gaultier’s Spring 2015 Couture collection. Vanity Fair even named her on their Best Dressed list.

BoF 500 2015-18

Li is a Chinese singer, actress and fashion muse. Her close friendships with many designers may be

AKA CHRIS LEE

able to explain her nominations in #BoF 500 for four consecutive years. She’s also the only Chinese celebrity to have made it to the list in 2015.

Lee catapulted into fame when she won the Chi-

nese ‘Super Girl’ singing contest in 2005. Since then, Lee has garnered a loyal fanbase intrigued by her tomboy look and signature pixie haircut.

ognition when she was announced as the winner of the 20th MTV Europe Music Award for Best Worldwide Act, which cemented her presence in the industry worldwide1.

Her first step into luxury fashion dates back to 2012 when Jean Paul Gaultier personally designed all five

outfits for Lee’s world tour — his first time working with an Asian celebrity! Big names like Jeremy Scott,

Alexander Wang, Vivienne Westwood, and Alessandro Michele have all designed Lee’s outfits.

In January 2013, Lee became the first Chinese singer

Source: Lee’s Twitter

In November of 2013, Lee gained worldwide rec-

to land on Vogue Italia.

Source: Vogue Italia

CELEBRITY PROFILES

“ WHEN LI YUCHUN RELATED CONTENT WAS POSTED ON GIVENCHY’S WEIBO ACCOUNT, IT GOT 31,655 RETWEETS “ Source: Givenchy

She was also invited by Tisci to attend the 2013 Met Gala. After the Met, she officially starred in Givenchy’s AW 2015 campaign by Riccardo Tisci, alongside

industry icons like Donatella Versace. This was the first time ever that a Chinese celebrity was appointed as a brand ambassador for luxury fashion2.

A year later in March 2016, Givenchy launched a limited edition of Givenchy CL Sneakers for Lee’s

10th year since her debut— the first time Givenchy created exclusive products for artists.

In June, she was officially appointed the ambassa-

dor for Gucci’s Timepieces and Jewelry collection in

Asia, she later became the global brand ambassador in 2017.

1.6M Followers

@URNOT CHRISLEE

Source: Givenchy

She also collaborated with Alexander Wang to release a limited edition t-shirt in August 2016.

After numerous front-row appearances at fashion weeks, Lee finally made her runway debut upon

Naomi Campbell’s invite to walk for the charitable “Fashion for Relief”2 .

In August 2017, Diesel announced that Lee has become their global ambassador and a collaborative see-now-buy-now capsule “Go With The Flaw”

collection that was sold out within 30 minutes in New York. This collection is a sell-out in Milan and Tokyo too!4

During the Paris Fashion Week in October, she revis-

ited the runway as the only Chinese representative walking for L’Oreal Paris, which had signed her since

2012, to celebrate the diversity of beauty. Her selfwritten track “Dance to the music” accompanied the whole show2.

Source:Antony Jones 1. BoF, “Li Yuchun,” accessed Feb1, 2019. 2. Baidu Baike, s.v. “Li Yuchun 李宇春,” last modified Jan 31, 2019. 3. Casey Hall, “Cashing In on Asia’s Red Carpet Economy,” BoF, May 18, 2018. 4. Clay Hales, “Diesel collaborates with Chris Lee, Chinese singer and fashion darling, in a celebration of imperfection,” SCMP, Sept 18, 2017.

Source: Diesel

Source: Lee’s Studio Weibo

Source: Alexander Wang

CELEBRITY PROFILES

BoF 500 2013-17

an B ing B ing

As an actress, singer, model and producer, Fan is

China’s undeniable fashion icon. With her jetblack hair and doll-like features, Fan has been widely admired for her red carpet and personal

styles, which waver between indelibly avant-garde and classically sweet1.

Commonly referred to as a “goddess”, there is

no one in China who doesn’t know Fan Bingbing. Some fans have even taken their admiration so

far as to have their appearance modelled after Fan’s through plastic surgery2.

In 2010, Fan made waves at Cannes Film Festival in a

‘Dragon Robe’, co-designed by herself and Laurence

Hsu. Subsequently, a duplicate was collected by the Victoria & Albert museum in London, and the original was sold to Madame Tussaud’s wax museums1. Fan once again wore an avant-garde traditional robeinspired gown with crane motifs at the opening

ceremony of the 64th Cannes Film Festival. The dress was subsequently auctioned off by Fan her-

self for almost a million RMB for her own charity project Heart Ali3.

At the 65th Cannes Film Festival, Fan wore an el-

egant pale strapless gown designed by her friend Christopher Bu, decorated with bright floral designs and inspired by Chinese porcelain.

She has won numerous awards for her personal

Source: Sina News

style from Elle and Esquire, and often appears on

Vanity Fair’s international best dressed list1.

CELEBRITY PROFILES

Source (from left to right, top to bottom): Hollywood Reporter, Wireimage, TIME, Louis Vuitton, Chopard, Louis Vuiotton, Mont Blanc Weibo, Guerlain, Fanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Twitter

CELEBRITY PROFILES In 2012, Fan Bingbing became the spokesperson for Louis Vuitton’s Alma handbag line. The sales

of the Alma skyrocketed, with Chinese consumers calling it "Bingbing's bag"4.

At the 66th Cannes Film Festival in 2013, Chopard announced Fan as their global ambassador5.

Fan is the darling of top global luxury brands. Her lucrative list of endorsements further includes

L’Oreal, Cartier, Mercedes-Benz, and Moët & Chandon. Many consider her Louis Vuitton’s favorite

Chinese actress since the partnership started early

3.7M Followers

@BING BING_FAN However, she had a very public fall from grace in

2018. Over the past two years, she received a total of $290 million (RMB 2 billion) in sponsorship

fees, with the highest single sponsorship fee being RMB 28 million.

2009, three years prior to the official collaboration2.

Fan disappeared from the public eye for three

She appeared in Louis Vuitton's SS 2014 RTW

with a public mea culpa and a mega $129 million

campaign alongside Catherine Deneuve, Gisele Bündchen, and Edie Campbell. She was the first

months, before re-emerging in October last year fine for tax evasion6.

Asian actress in the brand's global advertisement.

Montblanc, Guerlain and De Beers, who all named

In August 2016, Forbes released its annual list

hurriedly pushed out their campaigns featuring

of world's best paid actresses in which Bingbing ranked number five with an annual income of $17 million. Fan has also taken the top spot on the

Forbes China Celebrity List since 2014, holding it for four consecutive years.

In 2017, Fan appeared on the cover of TIME mag-

her as their brand ambassador in previous months, her. All these brands did not make any official

announcements regarding Fan, but one Chinese media publication Daily Fashion News said that several luxury brands have quietly cut ties with Fan, in particular Montblanc, despite having been highly reliant on Fan to create social media buzz7.

azine. Earlier that year, she attended the 70th

In 2019, the actress appears to be making her way

Will Smith, Pedro Almodóvar and Jessica Chastain

Fan fronting a campaign for eyewear brand PRSR,

Cannes Film Festival, where she was – along with

– as a film jury. The Academy officially also an-

nounced Fan as a new member of the 2017 Oscars and a Lifetime Academy Award judge in June5.

“ IN 10 YEARS’ TIME, I’M SURE I WILL BE THE HEROINE OF X-MEN. “

out of the doghouse. Images have been leaked of and there has been word that the Hollywood spy

thriller 355, which features Fan as part of the

all-star cast (alongside Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong’o, Penelope Cruz and Marion Cotillard) has resumed production.

The general public seems receptive to Fan’s re-

turn, with the prevailing attitude on social media

that Fan is a high-profile fall guy for the dodgy accounting practices that plague China’s entertainment industry, rather than a serious villain

herself. But how long before the big luxury players are back knocking on Fan’s door?8

1. BoF, “Fan Bingbing,” accessed Feb 1, 2019. 2. Lotus Ruan, “10 Rising Female Brand Ambassadors in China You Should Know,” Jing Daily, Jul 28, 2017. 3. Ruby Karnick, “30 Interesting Things Every Fan Should Know About The Most Beautiful Woman - Fan Bingbing,” Boomsbeat, May 1, 2017. 4. Shuang, Tang, “Op-Ed | How Celebrity Sells in China,” BoF, Jan27, 2015. 5. Baidu Baike, s.v. “Fan bingbing 范冰冰,” last modified Jan 27, 2019. 6. Yiling Pan, “How Fan Bingbing’s Scandal Affected Chinese KOLs’ Brand Perception,” Jing Daily, Nov 30, 2018. 7. Yiling Pan, “Will Luxury Brands and Fans Forgive Chinese Superstar Fan Bingbing?” Jing Daily, Oct 4, 2018. 8. 想去, “道歉100天后，范冰冰正式复出：究竟是谁让她东山再起？” 微信QQ, Jan 15, 2019.

COVER STORY

INTERVIEW WITH RENEE TSE Photography by Naomi Kwok

COVER STORY

enée Tse is a first-generation

Chinese Canadian born and raised in Toronto. With ex-

senior year. There at Elmer Olsen, she realized her true passion.

perience working for Flare,

The Kit, FASHION Magazine, and Elle Canada and interviewing Eva Chen,

Follow her at

Elaine Lui, and Liu Wen under her belt,

“ I

editor, and digital content creator.

want to in-

she now works as a freelance writer,

I reached out to Tse via the contact form on her personal website on a

Monday afternoon, and much to my surprise, I woke up the next day

to see a new email from her in my

inbox. After a few email exchanges, we find ourselves sitting together in Balzac’s sipping (and spilling) tea.

really

tern and work

for a cool magazine.

It’s a dream of mine!

Growing up watching Devil

Wears Prada, How To Lose A

Guy In 10 Days, Confessions of a

Shopaholic, those are all movies I aspire to so I really wanted to go into the magazine world.”

In my research before meeting Tse,

Her journey in the industry

be in this industry, neither pursuing

at FASHION Magazine where

I learned that she did not intend to a degree in fashion nor journalism. Instead, she got her Bachelor of Arts

at Queen’s University majoring in Art History.

Like the good old stereotypical career

expected for a well-educated Chinese

started with being an intern she worked under the thendigital editor Randi Bergman, a proud alumni of Ryerson’s Fashion

Communication

Program, who is still Tse’s mentor today.

Canadian, Tse told me that she actu-

“The first day at FASHION

at least, enrol in law school.

and do everything like Devil Wears

ally planned to become a lawyer, or

“When I was a interning for my uncle’s

(note: when Asians say uncles or aun-

ties, we are not usually blood-related but more of family friends) law firm,

Magazine, I expected to grab coffee

Prada. I still remember to this day, she told me to write something, and

it took me a FULL day, A FULL DAY, to write like a 200-word story.”

he told me that I was too happy of a

After interning for Hudson’s Bay as

doubts too, so that’s why I decided to

ered that she missed the editorial

girl to be in law. I was starting to have do something totally different.”

She then took her chances at social me-

dia when it was becoming “a thing”

and started her first fashion-related

@TSE PARFAIT

a social media intern, she discovworld. She missed writing. She then

re-entered the publishing world

with more internship experience and eventually started freelancing.

internship at Elmer Olsen as a social media intern the summer before her

COVER STORY

s a digital content cre-

(Pics or it didn’t happen, right?) She

her Instagram account

brace new styles of food because you

ator, she is very active on

@tseparfait where she

shares her favourite food and travel

destinations, and occasionally, her #OOTD and beauty faves.

“The reasoning behind Tse Parfait is

all thanks to my friend. It’s a play on

grew up with her dad’s words to em-

never know what kind of cuisines

you’ll fall in love with. While she does enjoy a fancy Michelin-starred restaurant once in a while, she loves

having exquisite food at affordable prices even more.

my last name Tse (fyi, xie in Chinese

“If it means going to a hole-in-the-wall

pronounced like c’est in French. As

noodles or walking 30 minutes out-

translates to “thank you”) and it’s for parfait? I like dessert. Simple as

that. And I guess it all conveniently translates to ‘it’s perfect.’”

Travelling and finding a city’s best eateries is her mission in life, as well as documenting it all on Instagram.

restaurant to have the best wonton side in the suburbs for a $5 bowl of

ramen, I’m totally game. I guess you can call me a foodie, but I am no food

critic. I’m just here to share my fa-

vourite food spots with my circle of friends and family. That’s all.”

Source: @tseparfait

COVER STORY

Why Tse is the perfect interviewee?

Because she oversees the entire The

Kit Chinese production, has collabo-

rated with many Chinese influencers

based in Toronto and Vancouver,

and works with brands trying to tap into the Chinese demographic. As a

writer, her favourite part of her job is

penning luxurious fashion and beau-

ty stories that are translated for the Chinese readers in Canada.

A little side story about Tse and many other CBCs (the abbreviation for Ca-

nadian-born Chinese): a lot of them speak Mandarin, Cantonese, or their native dialects at home and are somewhat forced to attend Chinese schools,

but only a handful can actually write or read in Chinese proficiently.

To satisfy my curiosity, she opens

up to me about how The Kit Chinese

works without actually needing or being able to write in the language.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Now I will write three stories [per

issue] in English exclusive for The

Kit that speak more to the Chinese demographic, because the translator is not really a fashion journalist. But

basically, The Kit Chinese originally started as a monthly fashion insert inside Sing Tao Daily (one of the

few Chinese language newspapers in

Canada that is co-owned by the Sing Tao Group of Hong Kong and the Toronto Star). In August 2013, Sing Tao

saw the need for the market so they syndicated a lot of the content from

The Kit and translated it in Chinese. I

was very surprised that Sing Tao was at the very forefront of this!â&#x20AC;?

owever, the joint partner-

On WeChat, The Kit Chinese has

Sing Tao ended in Decem-

about what Chinese fashion influenc-

ship between The Kit and

ber 2014. Despite this, The

Kit wanted to continue the Chinese

edition. That’s how they brought Tse on board! Focusing most of her role

ers will wear for the season. In fact, some of them are actually Tse’s circle of friends!

on The Kit Chinese, she is determined

Brands such as Fresh and Clé de Peau,

ing “very vocal about” what they do

her help to connect with the Chinese

to make it “a bigger thing” while beand who they write for.

just to name a few, reach out to Tse for luxury consumers in Canada.

To tap into the younger generations,

“Brands always ask for my opinion

ers of Sing Tao or the Toronto Star, Tse

putting their Chinese names in their

contrary to the older newspaper read-

made the decision to launch The Kit

Chinese’s official WeChat account on February 1, 2018.

“It’s a big messaging platform, very Chinese-user friendly! Since so many people are on their phones, it was

such a no-brainer to put content on WeChat, to create content for it, and to be able to share it. WeChat is

a little bit different from the other

social media platforms. It is lots more about sharing, and you can’t

buy likes or any of that stuff, so the number of article shares really tell us what our readers like.”

WeChat is a great platform to reach

the Chinese luxury shoppers, but with many luxury brands moving onto WeChat and launching their

own mini apps, Tse believes that it is very tricky to do it smartly. Her advice

is to only have one account managed by the Asia Pacific team, instead of one for every region, in order to not confuse the users.

published quite a number of stories

first. More and more influencers are

bios, and I bring a list [of Chinese

influencers] because a lot of brands don’t really know. The Kit would usually do a collaboration with them, and

it would be a celebration with The

Kit Chinese plus the brand. At the

same time, they can create content for WeChat and Instagram for their Chinese fans, mainly in Toronto and

Vancouver. These two cities have

the biggest markets, and also are the biggest vendors especially Vancouver luxury market-wise.”

COVER STORY She revealed to me that the Chinese luxury consumers have quite a differ-

ent mindset when it comes to buying luxury products.

“People loooooooove collaborations slash limited editions. Anything

slapped on ‘limited edition’, people would be like ‘I need to get it.’ I think

it is about status. Chinese are getting

“ MORE & MORE INFLUENCERS ARE PUTTING THEIR CHINESE NAMES IN THEIR BIOS “

smarter at purchasing luxury too. There’s a group of Chinese consumers educating themselves on what are

STATUS STATUS STATUS STATUS STATUS STATUS

good investments. They want good

quality at a good price — the best of the best. They will go to the sales-

people and ask for the bestseller and get it!”

She is unsure about the ability of young-

Another insightful observation that

actual sales. There may be a disconnect

Tse made is that the Chinese luxury consumers are buying more “entry-

level” luxury products like mini-bags,

er idols converting online noise into between these younger idols and the traditional Chinese luxury consumers.

wallet, and keychains. She even

“When a brand finds someone so niche

and Canada Goose (go read what she

necessarily want to buy that brand.”

mentions that Coach, Michael Kors,

wrote for The Kit about this) are some

and young, an older woman may not

of the popular brands for being “af-

Nonetheless, she agrees that these

and status checkboxes.

tial and have achieved a cult following

fordable” while fulfilling the quality

Although luxury brands are enlisting

a lot of younger idols as brand ambas-

sadors, Tse still believes that A-listers are a better choice.

“Fan Bingbing, Angelababy, Song

Hye Kyo and Gong Hyojin are a few of my idols, who also work closely with big luxury brands (note: all attended Dior’s SS shows except Fan). I’ve enjoyed watching their dramas and have

aspired to be like them. They are pro-

fessionals and have a wider age range of fans and audience reach!”

young idols remain extremely influenamong the younger market who cares a lot about status and luxury brands.

“The [Chinese] economy has changed. The young Chinese luxury consumers have the money. They are not worrying about the money, and instead,

given the money. Status is a big thing

during that age, and that’s why a lot of brands right now have a lot of

logos — it’s easy to identify! Like

Canada Goose, the logo symbolizes

quality, and stars from both West and East are wearing it. When you

see these logos, these brand names, teens immediately think this person has money. He must be cool! Or she is wearing fashion!”

COVER STORY

“I don’t have hair or brow bones like Jennifer Lawrence — even though I

love her, I can’t do makeup and hair

like that. It was also a way for me to keep up with my Chinese language,

and it also made me proud of my culture seeing so many actresses, singers, and characters that look and sound like me.”

She even takes her passion further by Aside from this, she is a huge pop

ANGELA BABY

culture fan like me, being immersed in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese pop cultures (it’s hard to find someone who is so in-the-know for all three).

“I think East Asians, and especially Korean artists, are such beautiful

storytellers. The style, sound and mannerism is very different from the

West, which I think is quite fascinat-

ing for the rest of the world. You can’t find anything like that here, hence

why I love looking for Chinese, Japanese and Korean dramas to watch.”

When I asked why she leans towards

East Asian pop cultures, and what

it means to consume it as a Chinese Canadian, Tse explains by comparing

herself to Jennifer Lawrence.

writing features about all things SoKo — K-Pop, K-drama and K-beauty. You

name it, she writes it. In the realm of K-Pop, Tse’s inspirations do not stop

at the gender divide. She is a fangirl of G-Dragon, publicly naming him her “K-Pop bae” in one of her articles.

“I really want to be his best friend. He is sooooo cool and sooooo talented! He writes all his own songs. He

is held up in very high pedestal. He takes risks. Even other boys in K-Pop

like BTS, they are not afraid to dress

feminine. It’s not because GD likes

to wear skirts, he just thinks it looks cool. It’s his style before it becomes

a statement! He owned the Chanel

tweed jacket (Tse is referring to his fashion week appearance at the 2018

RTW show rocking the 2017 Fall womenswear piece)!

COVER STORY

fter our long but delight-

ful, conversation, I’m very very humbled by Tse’s vast knowledge of East Asian

celebrities, pop cultures, and fashion,

despite being a veteran fangirl for the

last 10 years. More importantly, she is extremely proud and publicly addresses her cultural heritage.

“My parents always make sure that

I am very proud to be Chinese so that’s why I am very very proud of

The Kit Chinese. I think we’ll be seeing more and more East Asian celebrities and influencers in global

campaigns. I hope to be able to talk

to these celebs and share their stories in the Canadian media.”

“ MY PARENTS ALWAYS MAKE SURE THAT I AM VERY PROUD TO BE

CHINESE

SO THAT’S WHY I AM VERY VERY PROUD OF THE KIT CHINESE. ” 33

Source: IC

Jing Boran, Actor

GLORY IN THE GLOBAL EAST

SCAN TO SEE MORE 36