Fusionable Cheongsam: New Work by Wessie Ling

Despite its feminine image, cheongsam’s hybrid nature originated in the traditional men’s changpao of 1910s and the influence of western aesthetics in the trading cities of 1930s China. While some studies (Steele and Major 1999, Tam 2000, Wilson 1997) have generalised the cheongsam as a product of ‘East meets West’, its close link with the political background and cultural history of China has been little considered. Amidst its rejection by Communist China and its ignominious adaptation as a seductive dress and hostess uniform, the cheongsam has continued to evolve and acquired new identities through popular culture, fashion production, global circulation and consumption.

Following Lowe’s (1995) notion of hybridity, Fusionable Cheongsam responds to cheongsam’s dichotomous representations by tracing the social and cultural history of China vis-à-vis cheongsam’s hybrid origin, evolution and liaison with the West.

Wessie Ling

Research Interests

Postcolonial theory, cultural production, identities, Asian fashion, fashion cities

Current Research

My research concerns identities with an emphasis on the discourse of cultural identities in the production of fashion. I am interested in the construction of identities, the expression and creation of an identity when producing fashion, the relation of such identity with one's locality and the tension within the industry in which it is produced. I have written on the engagement process of Paris-based Oriental designers, examining diasporic aesthetics that is born out of both the place and fashion system in which it is created.
My recent geographical focus on China has led me to publish a monograph (Fusionable Cheongsam 2007) and articles on how the identities of the Chinese dress have been constructed through its social and cultural history, popular culture and fashion production.
Further to the theme of identities is my practice-based research which draws on the relation between fashion, cities and identities, whereby fashion is acknowledged as a major social force and an interplay of consumer tastes, social habits and personal identities.
My installation aspires to consider how fashion represents our cultural selves and such liaisons within the society we inhabit. Projects being undertaken include Fusionable Cheongsam (2007), a solo exhibition at the Hong Kong Arts Centre which considers the dichotomous representations of the Chinese dress by means of a series of installations, and Game On: The World Fashion Conquest, a touring solo exhibition (Vienna 2007, London 2006) which inquires into the economic and cultural role that a homogenised fashion week serves beyond the fashion industry.

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