The Qipao/Cheongsam Evolution
Lunar New Year is coming and I thought I’d do something slightly different on the history and adaptations of this beautiful piece, having been ‘provoked’ by a photo of a non-traditional qipao!
I recently came across this reworked qipao set by vintagewknd on Instagram, a new and hip store that “carefully curat[es] unique, one-of-a-kind vintage clothing”. I admit, I was a bit indignant as to why someone turned the qipao into something…sexualised, as how my parents would phrase it. Some of my friends were outraged by this “bastardisation” of the traditional qipao while others were cool with it. My parents definitely belong to the former group and wouldn’t ever let me visit my grandparents wearing that no matter how auspicious the designs on it may be. I personally loved the design but I also had some reservations about it.
I initially inaccurately thought this was a form of cultural appropriation but realised that cultural appropriation is “the adoption of (an) element(s) of one culture or identity by members of another culture or identity.” This is therefore not cultural appropriation but an adaptation. But was this piece designed in appreciation of the history and culture of the centuries old qipao? Is the anger against the redesigned qipao justified?
Let’s start by doing a throwback to the good ol’ days. Disclaimer: I’m not a huge fan of history so I’ll summarise so as to not bore both of us. Now before the qipao was even a thing, the Chinese women surprisingly wore two-piece outfits consisting of tops paired with skirts or pants. As the qipao gained popularity and got Western influences, it adapted from a long, unfitted gown to a shorter, form-fitting piece characterised by its mandarin collar and frog buttons as these had been the defining elements since the very beginning. A research showed that participants believed that a garment without the mandarin collar and frog buttons is never recognised as a qipao.
If that’s the case, why do people find it hard to accept the qipao in this form? After all, it has all the basic elements of a qipao. According to the same research, participants felt that the qipao should elegant and dignified, and worn by someone who would fit that concept. Additionally, the materials and prints used to make the garment affects the overall vibe presented.
However, it’s important to note that traditional dress systems are never isolated from global fashion trends. In order for the traditional dress to have a place in our daily lives, it’s crucial to incorporate fashionable elements. In vintagewknd’s case, they incorporated the recent y2k trend of scarf tops and miniskirts into their qipao sets, making it casual enough for daily wear whilst allowing people to show off their Chinese heritage when they wear it out on non-lunar-new-year occasions.
Vintagewknd are not the first Singaporeans to have redesigned the qipao, Goh Lai Chan has also been giving it a refreshing modern twist of his own for nearly 40 years now, making the qipao “contemporary yet luxurious”. Other qipao designers include Melbourne-based Betty Liu and New York-based Jingwen “Daisy” Wang.
With the initiative and creativity of designers, I believe that the qipao will have a permanent place in many people’s closet as long as people recognise the need for it to evolve beyond the traditional gowns it started off from.
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Information extracted from:
Chui, C.Y. (2007). The meanings of qipao as traditional dress: Chinese and Taiwanese perspectives. [Doctoral dissertation, Iowa State University]. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=16603&context=rtd
Ho, S. (2013). Cheongsam. https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_2013-09-27_171732.html
Liu, H. (2009). The Cheongsam — the Treasure of Chinese National Apparel. Asian Culture and History, 1(1), 55–57. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/cba0/7e836c496751e791eee35924db57dfb7b3c1.pdf
