Is Diors New Chinese Ad Campaign Racist?
Dior’s new “Shanghai Dreamers” ad campaign is raising some eyebrows. The images, produced by Chinese artist Quentin Shih, feature row upon row of identical (as in digitally reproduced) Chinese men and women dressed in 1960s and 70s Cultural Revolution garb, and a single strikingly tall Western model dressed in Dior. Unsurprisingly, some in the blogosphere are crying foul. The images, to them, just seem too reminiscent of “Orientalism” and stereotypes, too flippant with a sensitive period of China’s past, and a little too close to imperialist notions of the West bringing culture eastwards. Not everyone, though, agrees. Are the images, in fact, racist? Here’s the debate: • The Artist Speaks Shih corresponds with McClatchy’s Beijing bureau chief Tom Lasseter. He first says that the images are solely his, supported by Dior, but his idea. In this series of work, I wanted to express a dialogue between Chinese fashion (60s to 90s) and Western fashion (Dior Haute Couture represents it the most
