Can Chinese Fashion Ever Get Political?
Music by: Rujay – Toxic.
It’s CULTED with your 60-second FASHION BLAST.
With China’s intense censorship and notorious “apolitical” public stance, can fashion in China ever get political in the wake of the BLM movement? In a recent article for Jing Daily, Jiaqi Luo raised the question…
With fashion brands around the world responding to the BLM movement by hiring diversity committees or making other long-lasting commitments, it seems this is unlikely to happen in China.
Luo cites the country’s “increasing sophisticated internet censorship and surveillance” as one of the main causes. However, she challenges the misconception that Chinese shoppers are “apolitical” explaining that one of the only ways Chinese youth can express themselves is through clothing.
But while the country may not be ready to speak up on race issues just yet, Luo explained how slowly more and more socio and political issues in China are being spoken about.
The pandemic has brought sustainability into question and Luo notes that in pre-COVID-19 China, expressions of sustainability concerns were rare, and often faced skepticism but this is slowly changing.
Censorship during Pride month has also been reduced significantly this year.
So does this mean we could eventually see fashion in China becoming more political?
Watch more videos on CULTED
See also: CHINESE DESIGNERS EXCLUDED FROM BFC COVID-19 SUPPORT FUND
