Chinese designer Vivienne Tam hit up New York in the ‘90s with a Higher Diploma in Fashion Design from Hong Kong Polytechnic and a vision. Her goal was to blend the cold fits of her home back in China, with the styles of the West she saw in NY, and with that her runways became GOATed. Real ones already know Vivienne Tam ran the ‘90s, but do you remember the time she trolled Chinese dictator Mao on the runway?
Tam’s designs have always taken influence from the traditional motifs, prints, and fabrics of her heritage, but back in 1995 she took this to another level by putting the face of the Chinese Communist Party’s then leader, Mao Zedong, on the runway. Putting Mao’s face on tees, skirts, bottoms, and jackets, Tam trolled Mao with images of him in pigtails, dresses, and with a bee on his nose.
According to Vivienne Tam, the aim of the collection was to “symbolise the positive and negative effects Mao had on Chinese culture.” And obviously it was met with some controversy. After dropping the collection, called “MAO” and designed in collaboration with artist Zhang Hongtu, both Tam and Hongtu’s families were denounced by Mao's regime.
Wdyt of Vivienne Tam’s “MAO” collection?
Featured image via Vivienne Tam©
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