Although this one-page editorial from Vogue US features some of the topic Asian models in the world, I am not a fan of story. I can hardly recognize the girls in all that garish hair and clothes. I wish they had chosen a more natural look.
[Click on the image for the large format. See if you can recognize the girls!]
Models: (left to right): Du Juan (IMG), Tao Okamoto (Ford), Hyun Yi Lee (Silent), Hyoni Kang (Ford), Liu Wen (Marilyn), Bonnie Chen (Next), So Young Kang (Marilyn) & Lily Zhi (IMG)
Editorial: Asian Major
Magazine: US Vogue US, December 2010
Photographer: Steven Meisel
Stylist: Grace Coddington
Source: Models.com
[Click on the image for the large format. See if you can recognize the girls!]
Models: (left to right): Du Juan (IMG), Tao Okamoto (Ford), Hyun Yi Lee (Silent), Hyoni Kang (Ford), Liu Wen (Marilyn), Bonnie Chen (Next), So Young Kang (Marilyn) & Lily Zhi (IMG)Editorial: Asian Major
Magazine: US Vogue US, December 2010
Photographer: Steven Meisel
Stylist: Grace Coddington
Source: Models.com
24 comments:
I agree! You know what, this is complete b.s. Sorry to sound harsh but think about it. They(or Anna Wintour)think they're doing us a big favor by having this tacky 2 page spread on Asian models but yet, they never bother having them modeling in their regular editorials. It's funny, back when Grace Mirabella was editor, she would feature ethnic models on Vogue covers as well as editorials. I remember seeing ads and layouts featuring Anna Bayle and Ariane Koizumi a handful of times. Call me crazy, but I sometimes feel as if some of these editors(majority whom happen to be white women)may be threatened by the beauty coming from the East.
I agree with you about the styling and setting..doesn't bring out the girl's best features as models. It's striking to have so many successful Asian models from around the world, but to not display them in the way the deserve is disappointing.
du juan for UNIQLO F/W 2010 ad
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=24748&id=146309392069492
"redifining traditional concepts"...exactly what traditional concepts are these Asian models breaking away from? It's rather eurocentric of Vogue to define Asian beauty as untraditional.
I am not a fan of this editorial either.
ugh..the hair is crazy(in a bad way). i hardly recognize any of 'em except for du juan(in green) & hyoni(fourth from left)..can't make out where liu wen is.
why did they leave sun fei fei out? she's the most stunning model working right now.
but i'm happy asian models are atleast getting a page or more in vogue us where non-white faces tend to be rare.
I don't believe the part about asian models "redefining traditional concepts of beauty"....vogue us loves to feature a non-white face once in a while and rave about them in an article or two but they hardly ever employ these models in the next edition or other future editions of the magazine...so fake! they did with lakshmi menon. white models, on the other hands, if written about, can count on being booked for future editorials and what not.
To be fair, Lakshmi Menon had numerous appearances on Vogue US over the last two years, including a spectacular single-model 12-page story.
Why Vogue US never support Du Juan is a mystery to me too.
http://asianmodelsblog.blogspot.com/search/label/Lakshmi%20Menon?updated-max=2010-02-24T08%3A15%3A00-05%3A00&max-results=20
Er. No Ming Xi and Fei Fei in this? They are like the biggest new asian models at the moment.
lakishmi menon had a spread in US elle! i saw it when it came in the mail a week or so
but i cannot seem to find it somehow
Du juan is the only one I can recognize off the back the others are too hard. Also i wouldn't call Du Juan a new model she's been around for a long time.
Ummm.. the last time I checked India and Malaysia were part of Asia so why not include Lakshmi Menon and Ling Tan?? Also where is Ai tominaga??
i like the editorial in and of itself but ugh.. they all look the same! how did they manage to make tao look like hyoni and du juan look like liu wen??? great job diversifying beauty, folks.
I look at it this way. We have our own fashion mags now. Practically every Asian country has vogue and bazaar. We don't need american vogue to be legitimate. Screw them. On a side note the article did make mention of sun fei fei and shu pei. Perhaps they were booked doing more important spreads for chinese vogue.
Anon 12:59PM, I saw the Elle story with Lakshmi. I will post it tomorrow.
I do not think this editorial is supposed to highlight any model here. I rather thought the hair look very interesting. From far, they look as if they were a flock of exotic birds. and those gowns... they are just breath taking ! and if anyone read the text .. it said that
A new crop of Asian Model is redefining traditional concepts of beauty. And we all know it that blonde hair blue eyes WAS the definition of what beauty is.
So, i think Vogue US is trying to make a valid point here.
i think US Vogue is pretty hypocritical. it does a asian-specific feature like this but it rarely, if ever, uses Asian models in its regular editorials.
i agree. The dresses and the location are very nice but I don't like this hair ):
Anon 4:08--True, there are many more publications for the Asian market but I think there is not much for the Asian-American market.
Maybe I'm looking at it from a business perspective but there are many young Asian Americans (both female, male, straight, gay, whatever) who have a deep interest in fashion. I would think that an important demographic of US Vogue readers are the Asian American consumers. It would be nice to showcase diverse beauty within a race rather than caricatures.
And are the Asian models really "redefining traditional concepts of beauty"? I think that is up to the work of the stylists, editors, casting directors and creative directors and how they portray the Asian models (after all, models rarely have a say in how they are dressed, made up, photoshopped). It still seems as if there is a recurring notion of "perpetual foreigner" and enhancing the idea of asians as "aliens".
to the person who mentioned the many different fashion magazines in Asian countries..well..unfortunately, there are many that continue to use and favor white blonde models over their own asian models. Japan being a prime example. A german friend of mine who lived there for a year was amazed to see that many of the models hired to model japanese clothings brands and makeup brands were predominantly white/European faces. one would think that the japanese companies would choose to hire more asian faces so that their asian consumer face can relate to the product being sold. but no, still to this day, young white teenage models are flown to tokyo to model products meant for japanese consumers...crazy, aint it? another troubling trend is that of mixed race japanese(half white and half japanese) models and celebrities being favored as ambasaddors of japanese brands. half white and half japanese models and celebrities are considered better looking & superior to full japanese models and celebrities.
Anon 3:24--I'm a working Asian model. I've worked in most of the major international markets and started my career in Asia.
Japan was one of the first Asian countries to open their market with the American and European markets (different from the way Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul are just gaining ground). A lot of European and American business people flocked to Japan for jobs in advertising and publishing. Many of the corporations, editors at large etc are European. I think this is the main cause of the Eurocentrism in Japan.
Anna Dello Russo is the editor at large for Vogue Nippon--she is Italian and studied Italian Art History.
Furthermore, most of the top modeling agencies that opened up in prime Asian markets are owned by European or American managers (who once managed models in western markets). The Asian market is treated as a "beginner" market for many models--it is where the top agencies in NYC and Europe send new faces to build their books. This is because there is less competition. Asia is still a growing market and it is treated as ground for opportunity for the Western editors and models to take over. What really needs to happen is for the Asians to take control of the situation--does that make sense?
Vogue Nippon isn't even shot in Japan (most vogue editorials across all the editions are shot in nyc anyway) and I do not find it appeals to the actual Japanese woman. The only people who buy Vogue Nippon are die hard fashionistas and photo buffs.
Anon 3:24 that is the japanese market and they are an anomoly. China, Korea, Singapore etc almost always use Asian model for covers and editorials. Asian Americans are not a big enough presence in the American market which is why they don't care to represent us. It comes down to money. That is why we should support the foreign mags to cater to us.
Anon 11:27--White models still have a very strong presence in China, Korea, Singapore, Thailand etc. Those markets do not always use an Asian model for editorials. They use the established Asian or Hapa models/celebrities for covers. But countless editorials, advertorials and catalogs still feature white models the majority of the time. Furthermore, (non-established) white models book more commercial, catalog, campaign/advertising jobs in Asia than the Asian models--those are the big model jobs that many new models desire. If you take a look at the boards at the Asian agencies, there aren't enough Asians and there isn't strong enough scouting in that area.
Every fair haired, light-eyed model is shoved into the Asian market because bookers know they can get the 25,000-50,000USD jobs in a snap.
I think it would be interesting to see the rates of the established Asian models versus their white counterparts (I don't think this will ever happen because it's taboo to discuss rates). Because I know for a fact (I work in the industry) there can be a huge difference in rate even if girls are high-profile.
I think Asian Americans are a huge presence in the American fashion market. Asian Americans are the most prominent consumers of luxury items and cosmetics. I still think it's important for American magazine editions (going from US Vogue all the way to InStyle, Lucky, Allure) to recognize such an important demographic.
i completely agree I was EXTREMELY disappointed with this story.
Fei Fei and Ming did a shoot with Testino and Grace Coddington for US Vogue but it was cancelled because Anna did not like it.
the story was strange and really provided little insight on the work and lives of Asian models but I found the author's personal narrative pretty interesting. picture sucks.
disgustingly pathetic!why did they make every girl look alike!?!
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