Fusionable Cheongsam, 2007.

A project explores the intriguing relationship between the cheongsam and hybridity.

Cheongsam’s feminine image offers little suggestion to its association with men’s attire in 1920s China. Amidst its rejection by Communist China and its ignominious adaptation, the cheongsam has continued to evolve and acquire new identities through popular culture, fashion production, global circulation and consumption.

The blend of ancient/modern, western/eastern, men/women in the development of the cheongsam is reflected in a series of installations and a monograph documenting the research and artwork for the project.

June 2007; The Hong Kong Arts Centre.

Photo: Paul Burroughs