Dissertation -- 24/25 Research Projects
Unraveling Colonial Threads in China's Fashion Landscape: Orientalism, Globalisation, and Cultural Identity
This dissertation examines the complex cultural dynamics and post-colonial influences shaping the Chinese fashion industry in an era of globalisation. By analysing key examples from Chinese industries, the research investigates how Orientalism and neocolonial tendencies continue to inform Chinese aesthetics and narratives, especially through the lens of fashion and visual culture.
Using a qualitative approach, this dissertation draws from case studies, visual analysis, and secondary data sources, including social media trends, industry reports, journal articles, books, and other relevant texts. Also, this dissertation incorporates an analysis of selected films and documentary,including American Psycho (2000), Blade Runner (1982) and American Factory (2019), alongside the works of Chinese photographer Leslie Zhang Jia Cheng.
The dissertation explores how Orientalism has influenced the aesthetics of the Chinese fashion industry and highlights photography as a central medium for visually storytelling cultural translations and deeper narratives shaped by Western perspectives. Emphasis is on the ongoing process of cultural translation, where the intersection of Western, East Asian and Chinese cultures creates a dynamic and continuous reinterpretation of meanings. The translation is framed as process, and result for transferring symbols and cultural meanings, a process that evolves, and a result that inherently resistscomplete equivalence, reflecting the complexities of cultural exchange.
This discussion connects to Post-Colonialism, where the reinterpretation of cultural symbols reflects broader social transformations. Additionally, the essay introduces the concepts of Techno-Orientalism and Sinofuturism to analyse how technology integrates into current aesthetics in Chinese fashion photography. It raises concerns about whether the Chinese fashion industry unconsciously adopts Western narratives of Orientalism in an era of globalisation, highlighting the broader cultural implications of this phenomenon.