WEEKEND JOURNAL; Fashion: Model's Chinese Looks Were an Instant Hit Everywhere but China; Du Juan's Star Rises at Home After She Wins the West; A Face of Things to Come

• Published in: The Wall Street journal Asia
• Main Author: Vanessa O'Connell and Cui Rong
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hong Kong Dow Jones & Company Inc 29.09.2006
• Subjects: Consumers; Fashion designers; Fashion models

Ms. [Du] is the face of a paradox in the fashion industry as it expands its global reach. In China, where the luxury-goods market has recently exploded, many consumers have come to associate Western fashion brands with the European and American models -- Caucasian mainly -- who appear in their ads and in fashion magazines. As a result, "Chinese people tend to like models with Western-ish looks: wide eyes, high nose and slender figure," says Su Mang, editor-in- chief of the Chinese edition of Harper's Bazaar. "The Western look is rare and different from what we see every day." Ms. Du's big break came in October 2005, when she appeared on the cover of French Vogue for a special issue on China. "It was the first time we put an Asian on the cover, and it was a special Shanghai issue, so I think we sent a message," says Carine Roitfeld, editor-in- chief of French Vogue. "I think it's very fashionable to use Asian girls. They are a particular beauty. Their skin is amazing, and they are very delicate, and they are very graceful." Ms. Du "is divine, very pretty, an ancient beauty," says Patrick Demarchelier, the fashion photographer who shot the Vogue cover. By spring, many fashion designers wanted to cast Ms. Du in their runway shows. "There's a mystery behind her face," explains Thomas du Pre de Saint Maur, a spokesman for Yves Saint Laurent, which cast Du Juan in its March show in Paris. "It recalls an ancient beauty. And at the same time, it is modern."