On a red-carpeted catwalk in Hangzhou, a girl wearing a green army uniform and red Chairman Mao badges on her chest appears to exhilarate the audience. The scene was a fashion show in the scenic city in east China once dubbed "Heaven on Earth" by ancient Italian explorer Marco Polo.
"Look, the era of Cultural Revolution!" A young man in his late 20s exclaimed in the hall of China's National Silk Museum. Amid camera clicks and brightening flashbulbs, time has been reversed to the Cultural Revolution, the ten-year period of extreme political and cultural turmoil that began in 1966.
In less than 10 minutes, the fashion show presented an exquisite timeline of the vicissitudes in Chinese society since 1900, including the collapse of its last feudal dynasty, the Qing (1644-1911), the anti-Japanese aggression war, and an economically oriented China reaching out to the outside world.
"No other century in Chinese history saw such an avalanche of changes and brought such profound breakthroughs to its stagnant apparel tradition as has the past 100 years," said executive deputy curator Xu Deming of the silk museum. "From hierarchy symbols and power control tools to a free outlet for average people's aesthetic preferences, the Chinese clothing tradition has come traveled a hard road," he said.
A good starting point to track the hundred-year marathon, Xu said, was to tour the exhibit titled "Fashions of the last century: Chinese costume from late Qing to present" at the silk museum, open between Sept. 11 and Nov. 20 amidst the ongoing seventh China Arts Festival.
Two sets of clothing, one an elaborate red overcoat only for girls of Manchu origin and the other a two-piece suit for Han Chinese woman, were displayed side by side, showing the severe hierarchy system of feudal China. After the nomadic Manchu people established the Qing Dynasty in the 1600s, they devised and amended apparel codes eight times, detailing the designs, colors and collar shapes for both court officials and commoners.
At that time, Han Chinese woman typically wore lined coats paired with skirts, though the materials used might be different, such as silks for the rich and cotton for the poor. In contrast, only Manchurian girls were allowed to wear overcoats, full-length robes reaching below the knee.
For men outside court, the main attire was confined to long-gowns or "changpao," and riding-jackets or "magua," which have jokingly been called "Chinese tuxedos." Officials who dared to overdress either in court or out, were removed from their posts or beheaded. Fashion critics therefore called the 300-year-long Qing Dynasty "a dull era with no fashions at all."
A shred of new life emerged between the 1920s and 1930s. Exhibits of that period are dominated by suits and hats of western styles, one-piece dresses stitched with flat beads, and wool-velvet overcoats. Palm-sized lotus shoes for women gave way to high-heeled leather shoes.
"The hierarchical apparel system of feudal China gradually fell apart. People finally dressed to amuse themselves rather than to appeal to power," said fashion instructor Xu Liuying of the Hangzhou-based Science and Technology University in Zhejiang.
Behind the changes were the then burgeoning democratic movement and the rising influence of western culture. A good many students sent abroad by the Qing government to study Western science and technology in an attempt to save the failing dynasty came back in western style suits.
Some revolutionaries returning from their studies in Japan also recognized the need to rid China of its backwardness and bad habits by introducing more advanced Western political and economic modes along with their cultures. These people passionately initiated a campaign encouraging people to cut off their humiliating pigtails and put on Western style suits. Pretty soon, even the last Emperor, Puyi, followed the example of his Western mentor Mr. Johnson and publicly dressed in suits.
Of the 160 items either borrowed from museums or donated by citizens in Hangzhou, a large portion are Cheongsams of the 1930s, as women, long oppressed in feudal China, became freer to express their minds after the democratic revolution led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen.
Compared with the big dressing gowns for Manchurians in the Qing Dynasty, which purposely hid women's figure and curves, Cheongsams not only varied in designs and colors but also followed western trends of contracted waists and narrower cuff. Decorations diversified from flat beads, laces, pleats, coiled cloth buttons to ribbons. Even shoulder pads were used.
Influenced by short Western skirts, and with the availability of imported silk stockings in Shanghai, hemlines climbed to knee level. Fashion expert Xue Yan said, "ladies exposed their beautiful and healthy calves, bringing about a sense of modernity."
Such festive dress diminished in the 1940s, however, as the Japanese invasion destroyed the country's economy. In an exhibit from this decade, Cheongsams began to have zippers, lowered collars and shortened length, indicating people's emphasis on material saving, simplicity and usefulness.
When the People's Republic of China was established in 1949, the country's fashion disappeared into a completely inconceivable period. Sitting in one booth were a Lenin Suit, yellowed by age, and a gray Sun Yat-sen Suit, the favorite clothes of Mao Zedong. Next to that was a set of green army uniform and a blue jacket under a slogan reading "Stick to Revolution."
Gazing at the items for a moment, Hangzhou local Zhou Caifang recalled that youngsters used to buy Lenin and Sun Yat-sen suits for weddings. The 52-year-old said that the green army uniform should be called a "casual army jacket." As for the blue one, it was called a women's dual-function jacket," very popular at that time, she said.
According to Zhou, it was rather chic to dress in army uniforms whether one was in the army or not during the first three decades after new China was established. "We were isolated but extremely confident about the cause of Communism. Everyone considered it a virtue to rely on himself and strive hard," she said.
To ease the shortage of resources and meet the daily needs of half a billion people, the Chinese government rationed almost every daily necessities. However, when people went to department stores to buy rationed cloth, they simply found nothing much available for sale, and what there was in blue, gray and black. Such unanimity shocked visiting foreigners who described the then Chinese as "blue ants and gray ants."
"Everyone wants to look pretty and neat, it's natural," Zhou said. Seeking a change, many Chinese women took up needlework. Sewing machines had become a valuable betrothal gift. In late 1970s, Dacron skirt with colorful patterns made a hit as many girls preferred to wear their skirts inside blue jackets and put skirt collars outside. "That enlivens our dull jackets," Zhou explained.
Many fashion experts believed the complete recovery of Chinese people's fashion awareness came after the country opened itself up in 1978. All of a sudden, western culture flooded into China.
From Western movies, youngsters learned new ways to deal with romantic relationships and instinctively emulated the heroes and heroines by wearing trumpet trousers and checked shirts. One-piece dresses with a loose top and gathered waist also inaugurated an instant vogue after being described as "capitalistic" for showing too much elements of feminine beauty.
At this fashion show, Xu Liuying picked up a few backless evening dresses made by the Hangzhou Hopeshow Clothing Company to present modern Chinese attire.
"These dresses contain Egyptian and Greek elements there. It is very difficult to find an apparel solely belonging to the Chinese," said Xu Liuying.
Chueh Bifen, a Taiwan researcher who came to the exhibit for inspiration of fashion design, said that preserving Chinese elements was very important as the influence of western culture became stronger.
Before the visit, Chueh said she had no idea about the Lenin suit, Sun Yat-sen suit or the army uniforms popular in the isolated China. "Whether the exhibit has fully reflected the past history or not, it was a valuable experience for many people," she said.
Backstage, eighteen-year-old model Xie Chen who wore both Cheongsams and green army uniforms, was still immersed in the excitement of audience.
"I am serious with the performance. Although I couldn't experience those days in person, I am sure they were special and meaningful to Chinese," she said.
(Xinhua News Agency September 15, 2004)
