Running till April 5 at The Shanghai Museum on People’s Square…
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The Shanghai-style qipao, like a prism traversing time and space, refracts the brilliant radiance of 20th-century China’s aesthetic evolution and cultural self-awareness. “Qipao: Glamour and Modernity beyond Shanghai” uses the “Modern Tide” as its warp and “Boundless Aesthetics” as its weft, seeking to explore the profound cultural roots and the magical historical changes behind the garment.
The transformation in qipao’s form shows the symbiosis of “creativity” and “inclusiveness”. From the subtle modesty of traditional robes to the flowing openness of modern fashion, every cut of the qipao is imprinted with the trajectory of the Chinese women’s physical and spiritual liberation. It anchors the stylistic essence of Eastern dress while embodying the creative ingenuity of Western fashion, sketching out the unique, inclusive character of Shanghai-style culture.
The fusion of aesthetics is like an orchestral triumph of cross-disciplinary creation. When the gentle artistic conception of the East encounters the precise tailoring of the West, traditional craftsmanship is revitalized in the tide of the times: Chinese elements shine brightly in the global fashion lexicon through the Shanghai-style qipao, and the integration of international fabrics, exotic patterns, and innovative decorations weaves a new paradigm for mutual learning among civilizations.
Cultural prosperity marks the renaissance of national confidence in the new era. From the graceful allure in Shanghai’s lanes to the oriental fashion icon on the global runway, the qipao’s transformation is a microcosm of the modernization of Chinese attire. It carries the Chinese efforts of rebuilding cultural confidence and presenting the world with the eternal charm of Eastern wisdom.
The centerpieces of this exhibition come from the cherished collection by Mr. Jeff Chang and the generous donation of Ms. Patricia Pei. Our sincere gratitude is extended to them.
We dedicate this exhibition as an opening note, inviting you to push open the “door of modernity” and wander among “silhouettes of glamour” to get a glimpse of this century-long aesthetic epic woven with needles and threads: to revisit how the Shanghai-style qipao broke boundaries with the rich cultural heritage and transcended borders through its inclusiveness, allowing this quintessential Eastern garment to continue its everlasting glow in the firmament of global fashion.
Many thanks to Tina Kanagaratnam of Historic Shanghai for a picture of the latest iteration of Alexander Vertinsky’s Gardenia Club at 1389 Yuyuan Lu – some sort of French cafe? The great Vertinsky was a Russian (though born in Kyiv) cabaret artist, singer, composer, poet and all-round Bohemian-libertine who moved around the world after the Bolshevik Revolution and lived in Shanghai in the late 1930s until c.1943 when he was allowed to return the USSR (apparently spared the fate of so many as Stalin was a fan!). He appears as a character in my book City of Devils.
Anyway 1389 Yuyuan Lu has been through some incarnations of late. It was originally built as a private residence before being Vertinsky’s Gardenia Club. In recent years it’s been Superman Hot Pot, a Japanese restaurant, a pizza place and now “Artist la Pie” (??) changing ownership every few years.
So many different iterations since the Gardenia. Is it possible the ghost of Vertinsky visits occasionally?
Lai Kei Sorvetes ice cream is an institution in Macao, established in 1933. Their outlet on Avenida de Conselheiro de Almeida is a time travel capsule. Their signature ice cream sandwich, which consists of a combination of melon, coconut, and pineapple ice cream sandwiched between thin wafers, and is packaged in a cardboard box still with the original 1933 design.
My biography of the great American advertising man in Shanghai, Carl Crow, is available in Chinese!! Pubished by Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences Press (SASSP) and a massive thanks to my translator – Nie Zuguo 聂祖国. And I’ve got a few copies to give away…. just send me your address (paul@chinarhyming.com) – sorry, but can’t mail them to the PRC or USA (they just disappear at the border in the first and the duties/tariffs now make it unaffordable to the second).
And also a few copies of the French edition of Midnight in Peking (Minuit a Pekin) for anyone in France, Belgium, or indeed anywhere but the PRC or USA who’d like one?- Sorry, but, as above, they rarely ever arrive in China and Trump’s duties/tariffs make it unaffordable to the States now. Just email me your address to paul@chinarhyming
I had a great conversation in the Casa Garden with Adam Sisman, John le Carre’s biographer, about the great man, writing biographies of people still alive (as le Carre was at the time Adam interviewed him), the secrets people try to keep and a deep dive on his Asian magnum opus The Honourable Schoolboy (1977). Click here to watch.
The 2nd Battalion, 9th (East Norfolk) Regiment of Foot in Hong Kong (others members of the regiment were stationed in Yokohama at the time). Absent from this photo is Private James Dickinson who died on April 16 1865 and was buried in Hong Kong (one of at least two regiment members that died in Hong Kong in 1865). The mount date given is 1864 but on the border of the photo ink description it says 1865 (which concurs with the missing men)…
