Asian beauty a hit on international catwalks

published by Asianpost on Fri, 06/09/2006 - 01:02

Former Miss China Du Juan has proved her appeal in her native Shanghai. But how well does her charm translate to the catwalks of New York?
Not too badly, apparently.


 

Since appearing with Australian model Gemma Ward on the cover of Vogue China's premiere issue last September, Du has been in constant motion. She has graced Paris and Italian Vogue, too. In Paris and Milan earlier this year, Du sizzled on the catwalk at Marc Jacob's Louis Vuitton show, as well as for Hermes, Yves Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta and a few others.

That led the editors at Style.com Vogue and W Magazine's website to name her as one of autumn's top 10 new faces.

But Du Juan is more than just the next big Asian model.

 

According to the China Daily, her success, in many ways, reflects the changing attitude towards Asian beauty in a globalizing world. Buoyed by interest in Asia and movie stars with a growing international presence, China's potential as a land of buyers of luxury goods has made Chinese beauty matter.

The daughters of the East, therefore, have an even more prominent role to play in the fashion industry, in which a convergence of taste has been emerging. All this makes Du Juan hot property.

More proof of the 178-centimetre model's rising status was her appearance in Models.com's top-50 female models' list in April.

Interest in the Asian region has grown. China's rise, Japanese economic resurgence and the spreading popularity of Korean pop culture have had attractions: More people want to read about, write about and watch Asia. In the United States, the number of Asian women in the news, commercials and TV shows has risen, even if only slightly.
Then there's the rise of Asian actresses. Lucy Liu is the most famous Asian-American actress today, with several blockbusters on her resume.

 
Riding on more mainstream movies such as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Memoirs of a Geisha," and the proliferation of Asian film festivals across the world, China-born actresses such as Zhang Ziyi, Gong Li and Maggie Cheung have been propelled into international magazines and endorsements.

Zhang Ziyi and Gong Li both have appeared in People magazine's 100 most beautiful people list, with Zhang making her third appearance this year.

The rise of these Chinese actresses has helped fuel a surge of Western interest in Asia, Hong Kong-born New York-based designer Vivienne Tam told the China Daily.

Photo Source: TahitiPresse

 
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