CHINA: China leaders are hardly known for their fashion sense, but icons of China's hardline communist past are thriving on the fashion scene

From T-shirts to cufflinks, symbols of China's sometimes hard-line communist past maintains fashion allure in more capitalist times. "Communist chic" is visible in some of the trendiest shops across greater China, where funky, colourful T-shirts celebrate the march toward socialism, and glossy photo frames are filled with colourful pictures of men wearing Mao caps. In Hong Kong's trendy Causeway Bay shopping district, Chairman Mao Tse-tung is a popular motif at home furnishing and fashion shop G.O.D. G.O.D's founder and chief designer, Douglas Young says he likes to use images of the Mao era since they are instantly recognizable. "The communist government is basically an icon generating machine. Mao is presented as an icon and various figures are presented as icons and slogans. It's constantly being repeated which is why the style is so recognizable and it's very easy as a designer to use or manipulate these images," said Young. Upscale fashion house Shanghai Tang sells cuff links with emblems of Mao's face in its flagship Hong Kong shop. Baseball caps with red stars are also on display. The head of Shanghai Tang, Raphael le Masne de Chermont says these images blend into a concept he coins as "China Chic". "China chic is basically an accessory or an apparel which is rooted in the Chinese culture and we translate it into a modern way so it can be wearable and you can travel with it. This is what we call China chic," said le Masne de Chermont. In Beijing, where old houses in small streets have become trendy shops, local retired residents have become shop keepers and old communist icons are hot commodities. In one trendy neighborhood a T-shirt shop called Plastered 8 sell T-shirts for 12 U.S. dollars. The shop which opened two years ago specializes in designs derived from old communist posters, icons, or things from the past that are disappearing in fast-changing modern Beijing. Meanwhile, Mao remains a favorite, even for cash-rich art collectors. The brightly-colored painting made in 1992 by contemporary Chinese painter Wang Ziwei sold at auction in Hong Kong last week for over 100-thousand U.S. dollars. These days party leaders are less icon conscious and symbols of China's growth are evident in towering skyscrapers and infrastructure building ahead of the Beijing Olympics. China's leaders meet next week at the 17th Party Congress, which is expected to consolidate President Hu Jintao's power and anoint his successor. Yet the key meeting, which opens every five years, is not expected to slate democracy as a key issue on the agenda. All eyes will be on the party Congress for any signs of fresh images and slogans.

ITN Source | October 15, 2007

Tags:. .maintains. .era. .rooted. .towering. .kongs