Qin Hailu in photoshoot to hype new movies

Qin Hailu did the film equivalent of scoring the winning goal in her initial Premier League match, winning the Golden Horse for best actress for her role in Durian, Durian, her first film, in 2000. She has two coming the the theaters this year Love Tactics and The Piano in a Factory which she also produced.

Playing to one of her strengths those who make such decisions decided to put her in a couple of cheongsams and take some pictures.

CRIEnglish

Jiang Yiyan in cheongsam.

Jiang Yiyan in one of the ubiquitous "photo shoots" that pop up in the Chinese celebrity press--and which often wind up here. More qipao/cheongsam goodness with a bonus of a blazing red, intricately embroidered wedding dress. Proof (as if any more is needed) that god was in a benevolent mood when he decided to create silkworms.

She has a movie coming out soon, a Chinese/German collaboration that might be based on the latest release from the Steve Jobs digital empire, I Phone You.

I think the work is really impressive--here is a detail from the wedding dress enlarged 2.5 times:

Jiang Yiyan images from CRI English

Arrivals at 29th Hong Kong Film Awards

The 29th Hong Kong Film Awards Presentation Ceremony was held at Hong Kong Cultural Center. The package of photos just arrived via Pony Express (even though they have been all over the place already) and here are a few:

Gao Yuan-Yuan in an outstanding cheongsam inspired black dress paired with killer heels, lovely upswept hair and almost no accessories. She seems to be enjoying the moment here, knowing she looks great.

Looking distinguished in another shot:

More black dress goodness--Denise Ho.

Michelle Ye in one of the best cut and draped gowns I have seen anywhere, paired with just the right jewelry. Elegant, sexy, delightful. The fabric covered buttons on the seam on her top are a very nice touch.

Shu Qi in a jeweled "chiffony" number. While she has been a controversial figure in the past one thing about Shu Qi can't be denied--she knows how to make a dress look great. This is a strapless Elie Saab number with lots of embellishments on the skirt. If I marketed upscale gowns I would send her piles of money to wear my stuff.

Another view with a very smirky Chang Chen happy that she is on his arm.

Rain Lee is thinking either "Look, I'm wearing a tent" or "Watch as I fly around the Cultural Center".

Gigi Leung looking ruefully sexy in a well cut, form fitting sheath which isn't helped by the asymetrical neckline. Other than that a lovely dress in which she looks lovely.

Big bows on evening gowns or red carpet dresses aren't usually a good idea and this one worn by Zhang Jingchu is a really big bow. She looks so good in this monstrosity that you just know she would have killed in anything decently designed. Love her hair, a nice departure from the short cuts or upswept looks that are de rigueur at most red carpet events. The tiny jeweled tiara/band sets it off perfectly.

All photos from Zimbio.com

More to come.

A flood of Chinese stars in cheongsam

"CRIEnglish" has an article that is a joy to those stuck in the snowy wastes of the crumbling wreck of North America's former industrial heartland. A perfect timeless or evergreen feature piece, on that could run almost anytime, it is little more than scores of pictures of actresses, singers and models, most of them Chinese, wearing variations of the cheongsam.

I have only a few quibbles with the editors at CRIEnglish. The first is their count on the number of different versions of the cheongsam that Maggie Cheung wears in "In the Mood for Love". The article states that it is 23 while I counted 32 different ones. Their source may be better than mine (I might have simply counted a few twice) but I will stick with the larger number for now.

Another is that they showed some dresses that could only be seen as a cheongsam if someone decided they were. This was probably due to them wanting to run as many pictures as possible, a decision with which I fully agree. Frederick Engels was correct when he wrote that quantity becomes quality (or the more, the better) so we can put with a few instances of red mini-dresses with capped sleeves stuck in among the flood of pictures of the real thing.

Interesting contrast showing how close to perfect this garment can be and why is has been so popular for so long--Celine Dion wearing what looks to be exactly the same dress as Gong Li (what, her again?) with both of them looking perfectly smashing.

Here is Celine Dion at some red carpet event with Jennifer Lopez in a slip dress. Dion's gown accents her willowy figure and essentially keeps her from disappearing while next to the more abundant (and more abundantly displayed) assets of Jennifer Lopez:

Someone should have told Jennifer to lose that green belt/sash/whatever with the huge fabric flower but that is another story.

Similar poses in the same dress--note the piping on the sleeve holes, for example--Celine Dion and Gong Li:

 

I won't bother with any more images--CRI has a truckload of them.

A quick update since durian dave mentioned the picture of Cecilia Cheung--I agree it is a lovely image--and it is a bit buried at CRI, this is it:

Terri Kwan, Zhu Xuan at Prince of Tears Opening--How to wear (and not wear) a cheongsam

The the recent Taipei premier of "Prince of Tears" Terri Kwan wore a radically styled cheongsam with the usual demure neckline but with a more daring cut on on the back and particularly the sides. She paired it with pumps that closely matcher her dress and simple accessories and looked great. As did Zhu Xuan in a short eventing dress that looked like it was made of dyed feathers and Christian Louboutin T-strap pumps. Christian Louboutin seems to be one of the weapons of choice on the red carpet this season for Chinese stars. From szonline through Dennis Lee's blog.

A few pictures from the red carpet showing that Terri Kwan is fully aware of the power of the traditional Chinese dress, updated but still with much the expected structure.

Here are a couple of Terri Kwan and Zhu Xuan, the first particularly showing the bold cut of Terri's gown.

While the cheongsam is by no means foolproof--here Japanese singer Ayumi Hamasaki shows that it is not always flattering to the wearer. For example if the placement of the side slit makes it difficult to sit in a ladylike or even comfortable looking position:

And Paris Hilton shows a westernized, updated (updated to the Madonna Blonde Ambition Tour 20 years ago) and quite dreadful version, although picking on Paris Hilton's fashion sense really isn't fair.

The ne plus ultra of the cheongsam as a ravishing outfit, of course, is Maggie Cheung with her 32 or 33 different ones in "In the Mood for Love". Since the film was set in the 1960s and Maggie's character lived among people from Shanghai who had been uprooted to Hong Kong, the dresses were traditionally cut with the silk printed in astounding patterns. A few examples:

Here is a close-up to show the lavish pattern of one of them:

The lovely Tang Wei, while most notorious for her nudity in "Lust Caution" also wore great looking cheongsams during scenes in which she was allowed to keep her clothes on. For example:


And there is Gong Li. There is always Gong Li. Any actress who could look exquisite in a padded peasant's coat with a ratty scarf tied around her hair (which she did in "The Story of Qiuju") is going to be simply sublime in a cheongsam, particularly one cut like this one: