Ancillary #5: How Different!
When we think of American fashion, we might think of cowboy hats, jeans, crop tops… all quintessentially American pieces of clothing that each hold a historical or social significance from US history. We usually don’t think of the qipao, a form of Chinese dress developed during the hundreds of dynasties within Chinese history and modernized in 1920s Shanghai. Yet, in recent years, the qipao was become wildly popular in all areas of American fashion, from runway couture to fast fashion to prom.
The hold the qipao holds over Americans shouldn’t come as a surprise. It’s elegant high collar, intricate knot buttons, and iconic leg slit make up a beautiful aesthetic perfected by Chinese dressmakers over thousands of years. The versatility the design offers also allows the qipao to be worn for a variety of occasions.
Accordingly, we should not be surprised at the speed and depth with which the qipao has dominated American fashion trends. Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Urban Outfitters, Forever 21, and more have incorporated or transformed the qipao into their designs. But is there more to this fashionable cultural exchange than the (literal) eye can see?
American fashion and culture prides itself on difference. Fashion is (literally) a patchwork of different skills, fabrics, colors, and ideals derived from other cultures. The qipao has a clear Chinese presence; its unique designs creating an “exotic” look. American masses and the designers that cater to them gravitate towards the beautiful, foreign difference the qipao exudes, without knowledge of the dress’ cultural and historical background. This want for difference begs the question: why China and Eastern aesthetics specifically?
American appreciation for “Oriental” elements goes far beyond aesthetic. From their first interaction — whether it be trade or war — the United States created and maintained an ultra-sexualized image of Chinese women built on modesty and silence. Traditional Chinese values dictate that women should be seen, but not heard. While modern China has since greatly evolved from this stereotype, the United States engrained it in their racist perception of an entire culture, fetishizing Chinese and East Asian women. Historically, racist Westerners have seen the Chinese as inferior beings, natural liars, and nothing more than an expendable labor source. The fetishization of Chinese women based on their ethnicity goes one step further: it sexualizes the sense of racist Western superiority and uses sexual appreciation as justification for racial and ethnic superiority.
As the qipao became more and more popular with Chinese women, the dress itself became part of the racist, sexualized stereotypes of East Asian women. The qipao, a cultural symbol with centuries of meaning and historical development, became synonymous with the “sexy geisha,” “exotic Oriental,” and “China doll.” The depictions of Chinese women put them in a cage. They were beautiful and different but quiet, submissive, and malleable to your every whim. And their “uniform,” the qipao, exemplified this appeal. To put it another way, the exoticism and sex-appeal associated with Chinese fetishes was reflected onto the qipao.
The historical implications of the qipao and Chinese women continue to influence current American fashion trends. Americans want to be the sexy, exotic, and mysterious without the geisha, Oriental, and Asian. They want to be beautiful without the fetishization and sexual assault that accompanied the dress they wear. They want to be different without the racism and xenophobic attacks.
The American fashion industry capitalized on this want. Retailers market qipaos and qipao-eque designs as “sexy Asian silhouettes” and “hot Oriental minis,” satisfying and continuing the misogynistic and racist stereotypes of Chinese women.
When we think of qipaos, we think of beautiful, detailed, and above all, different. We don’t think of the historical consequences of difference, the suppression of an entire population of women, or the racism threaded into the very fabric of the difference.
I mean, when faced with the trendy exotic elegance and sex appeal of a qipao, who really cares about history?
