China Brands, Marketing & Consumers
Mamianqun Gate: Dior Accused of Cultural Appropriation for Copying Design of Traditional Chinese Skirt
This is not just a matter of plagiarism, according to some, it’s about Dior taking a traditional Chinese design and claiming it’s theirs.
This article was first published by What’s on Weibo on
French luxury fashion house Dior has come under fire on Chinese social media today for the design of one of the skirts in its 2022 Fall collection, which resembles a Chinese traditional skirt known as mǎmiànqún (马面裙).
On the Chinese version of the Dior official website, the French fashion brand describes it as a “mid-length skirt” that is an “all-new elegant and stylish piece based on the iconic Dior silhouette.”
But many Chinese netizens do not agree, and say that the pleated skirt in question is actually a mǎmiànqún (马面裙): a wrapped, apron-like traditional Chinese skirt that was worn in China as early as the Song (960–1279) and Liao dynasties (916–1125) and became popular during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
The skirt by Dior.
The literal translation of the word mǎmiànqún is ‘horse face skirt.’ The skirt is composed of two overlapping fabrics wrapped around the lower body: the two sides of the skirt are pleated, and there is a smooth section in the middle. The skirt is also known as mǎmiànzhěqún (马面褶裙), ‘horse face pleated skirt.’
“It’s just exactly the same,” some commenters wrote. “They’re copying China and then selling it to Chinese consumers, I don’t know what to say.” On the Chinese official Dior site, the skirt is priced at 29,000 yuan (US$4292).
The Dior skirt on the left, Chinese mamian skirt on the right, image from Weibo.
“They’re vilifying China and at the same time, they’re stealing from Chinese culture. They’re shameless,” one Weibo user (@改改hj) wrote.
“Can’t the propaganda department set up an organization to defend our legal rights?” other commenters write.
The influential history blogging account @Qinyimo (@秦祎墨, over 7 million fans) wrote: “I’m not even kidding. I hope that a lawyer specialized in copyright law and an expert in cultural preservation will jointly evaluate this matter, and pay attention to how nasty this is.”
Some people are especially offended that Dior suggests the skirt’s design is inspired by their own original Christian Dior skirt, without any reference to China at all. Others foresee greater problems for Chinese traditional dress if Dior is actually claiming this design is theirs.
Side by side comparison of Dior’s skirt and mamianqun.
The blogging account Qinyimo raised attention to this potential problem.
“This is not simply a matter of plagiarism,” they write: “As traditional Chinese apparel, the mamianqun has historical origins in the Chinese traditional dress system which has continued to the present-day and has never been discontinued. If Dior has patented the version of their mamianqun design, this would mean that when the Chinese fashion industry uses this traditional technique, they could end up in an international legal dispute for doing so.”
“What is ours is ours, I am confident about that. But if their patent is approved, it would mean our way out is blocked (..) This is not a joke, this requires serious attention.”
Mamianqun examples shared on Weibo.
Chinese traditional dress is increasingly popular among Chinese young people, especially due to the rise of the Hanfu Movement, which can be described as a social movement that supports the wearing of Han Chinese ethnic clothing (read more here).
“Dior, this is blatant cultural appropriation [文化挪用],” one Weibo user writes, receiving nearly 12,000 likes on their comment.
At the same time, not everyone agrees that Dior is guilty of plagiarism: “It’s not plagiarism, don’t be mistaken, the mamian skirt is not protected by copyright law so you can’t really plagiarize it. It is, however, 100% cultural appropriation.”
“They are misappropriating our traditional apparel,” other commenters write.
It is not the first time for a Western luxury fashion brand to ignite controversy in China. In 2018, Italian fashion house D&G faced consumer outrage and backlash on Chinese social media for a marketing campaign featuring a Chinese-looking model clumsily using chopsticks to eat Italian dishes (read more here). Various other brands, including Versace and Givenchy, also came under fire in 2019 for for listing Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan as a separate countries or regions – not part of China – on their official websites or brand T-shirts.
However, it is rare for online controversies to come out in China accusing foreign brands of ‘cultural appropriation.’ In the past, China has been accused of cultural appropriation, especially when it comes to Korean traditions. Earlier this year, a performer at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics drew condemnation in South Korea for wearing a traditional Korean dress known as hanbok.
Although ‘cultural appropriation’ is at the center of today’s discussions, it is arguably a bit more nuanced than previous mainstream discussions regarding the issue of cultural appropriation outside of China. More than feeling offended about Dior using Chinese mamianqun design, it is about Dior claiming the design as being based on their own original classic. As one netizen writes: “Let’s not be misunderstood, it’s useless to talk about ‘cultural appropriation’ [文化挪用], we need to let people know that in the future if they’ll wear a mamianqun, they could be told by foreigners that ‘Chinese people just love to wear big fashion brands rip offs .’ When our own international clothing brands use our own mamian skirt elements, it is likely they’ll be sued by Dior for doing so.”
At time of writing, the official Dior Weibo account has not responded to the controversy. They have, however, turned off the comment sections of their latest posts.
By Manya Koetse
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China Brands, Marketing & Consumers
Tick, Tock, Time to Pay Up? Douyin Is Testing Out Paywalled Short Videos
Is content payment a new beginning for the popular short video app Douyin (China’s TikTok) or would it be the end?
News that Chinese social media app Douyin is rolling out a new feature which allows creators to introduce a paywall for their short video content has triggered online discussions in China this week.
The feature, which made headlines on November 16, is presently in the testing phase. A number of influential content creators are now allowed to ‘paywall’ part of their video content.
Douyin is the hugely popular app by Chinese tech giant Bytedance. TikTok is the international version of the Chinese successful short video app, and although they’re often presented as being the same product, Douyin and Tiktok are actually two separate entities.
In addition to variations in content management and general usage, Douyin differs from TikTok in terms of features. Douyin previously experimented with functionalities such as charging users for accessing mini-dramas on the platform or the ability to tip content creators.
The pay-to-view feature on Douyin would require users to pay a certain fee in Douyin coins (抖币) in order to view paywalled content. One Douyin coin is equivalent to 0.1 yuan ($0,014). The platform itself takes 30% of the income as a service charge.
According to China Securities Times or STCN (证券时报网), Douyin insiders said that any short video content meeting Douyin’s requirements could be set as “pay-per-view.”
Creators, who can set their own paywall prices, should reportedly meet three criteria to qualify for the pay-to-view feature: their account cannot have any violation records for a period of 90 days, they should have at least 100,000 followers, and they have to have completed the real-name authentication process.
On Douyin and Weibo, Chinese netizens express various views on the feature. Many people do not think it would be a good idea to charge money for short videos. One video blogger (@小片片说大片) pointed out the existing challenge of persuading netizens to pay for longer videos, let alone expecting them to pay for shorter ones.
“The moment I’d need to pay money for it, I’ll delete the app,” some commenters write.
This statement appears to capture the prevailing sentiment among most internet users regarding a subscription-based Douyin environment. According to a survey conducted by the media platform Pear Video, more than 93% of respondents expressed they would not be willing to pay for short videos.
An online poll by Pear Video showed that the majority of respondents would not be willing to pay for short videos on Douyin.
“This could be a breaking point for Douyin,” one person predicts: “Other platforms could replace it.” There are more people who think it would be the end of Douyin and that other (free) short video platforms might take its place.
Some commenters, however, had their own reasons for supporting a pay-per-view function on the platform, suggesting it would help them solve their Douyin addiction. One commenter remarked, “Fantastic, this might finally help me break free from watching short videos!” Another individual responded, “Perhaps this could serve as a remedy for my procrastination.”
As discussions about the new feature trended, Douyin’s customer service responded, stating that it would eventually be up to content creators whether or not they want to activate the paid feature for their videos, and that it would be up to users whether or not they would be interested in such content – otherwise they can just swipe away.
Another social media user wrote: “There’s only one kind of video I’m willing to pay for, and it’s not on Douyin.”
By Manya Koetse
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Jane Churchland
July 16, 2022 at 2:12 am
I may be missing something, but the photos and description look nearly exactly the same as the winter school uniform kilt I (and thousands upon thousands of others of Australian school girls) wore decades ago? Different fabric, but same design? A pleated wrap with a smooth front panel?
I agree that Dior claiming it’s something special is weird, but saying it’s culturally appropriated from a Chinese garment doesn’t add up to me.
Beefnoodles
July 16, 2022 at 2:46 am
It is not about the “Pleats”, which seems a familiar element of style in school uniform. However, the Chinese traditional skirt (mamianqun) have two layers of cloth overlapping each other, which is different from the skirt we wear nowadays. Why is it called a mamianqun (horse face skirt), it is because the shape of the skirt resembles the one side of the rampart in ancient city of China, which is called “the side of a horse face”. Why is it designed this way? Because, in ancient times, we don’t have zippers, elastic cords or Velcro to avoid exposure of private parts; Therefore, Chinese people have to wear a lot, so the multi-layered design makes the skirt breathable, and the pleats it utilized makes the skirt more comfortable when the skirt is swinging back and forth. China is, admittedly, a civilization with a discontinued history. Its culture has to be acknowledged. What Dior has done is offensive and disrespectful.
K
July 16, 2022 at 2:50 am
It’s the cultural appropriation; the article explained the structure of the apron-like traditional Chinese skirt, and this new Dior dress uses the almost same… They are not only similar in outlook
Beefnoodles
July 16, 2022 at 2:50 am
Chine is a civilization with continued history.
noodles
July 16, 2022 at 3:07 am
It is not about the “Pleats”, Which seems a familiar element of style in school uniform.
However, the Chinese traditional skirt (mamiangun) have two layers of cloth
overlapping each other, which is different from the skirt we wear nowadays. Why is it
called a mamiangun (horse face skirt), it is because the shape of the skirt resembles
the one side of the rampart in ancient city of China, which is called “the side of a horse
face”. Why is it designed this way? Because, in ancient times, we don’t have zippers,
elastic cords or Velcro to avoid exposure of private parts; Therefore, Chinese people
have to wear a lot, so the multi-layered design makes the skirt breathable, and the
pleats it utilized makes the skirt more comfortable when the skirt is swinging back and
forth. China is, admittedly, a civilization with a long, continued history. Its culture has to
be acknowledged. What Dior has done is offensive and disrespectful.
Even Princess Diana has wore a red mamianqun in 1981.
Yiran Sun
July 16, 2022 at 4:14 am
You are missing something. The the Dior skirt is open on both sides, and when untied it’s one piece of fabric, the specific construction is exactly, uniquely like mamianqun, even down to the specific placement of the pleats.
All tradition Chinese skirts are actually one piece of fabric tied together with ribbons on both sides, because you are expected to wear pants underneath it. Mamianqun was developed to open on both sides so women can more easily ride horses. Are horses the primary form of transportation for Australian school girls these days?
Kim_YS
July 16, 2022 at 10:09 am
This isn’t Chinese origin, this is Korean origin according to Chinese’s own written records. There’s Goguryeo mural painting showing this outskirt.
Keesty
July 18, 2022 at 11:30 pm
Mamian is from China. It’s the main dress for our female Han people in the Song and Ming dynasties (nearly 700 years of history). Why do Korean people always try to steal other people’s culture? If you know your history. You will find out the Korean peninsula is independent only after ， in 1895. You used to belong to the Chinese dynasty. I don’t think any Chinese people will want to wear any clothes from your region rather than our clothes. I can show respect to Korean, but only as you show respect to the real history.
Zeus
July 19, 2022 at 3:15 am
Check this video: “Dior and Its Cultural Appropriation of Chinese Ma Mian Skirt [CC]” (https://youtu.be/Chyma67-PMY), which explained clearly the unique design of the Ma Mian Qun (Horse face skirt). As mentioned above, this is not about “pleats”. The design of Ma Mian Qun made it easier for ancient Chinese women to ride horses, unlike that of the Western women, who did side saddle riding. What Dior does is blatant cultural appropriation.
Jane Churchland
July 19, 2022 at 9:07 am
OK, I’ve now seen a closer look video on the actual skirt, and you are all right and I was so extremely wrong. My apologies.
Guy
July 20, 2022 at 4:02 pm
Chinese copy everything. And they have the nerve to complain?
Walao
July 21, 2022 at 2:47 pm
Without fail, a korean will always show up to claim some heritage that’s obviously not theirs.
Whatdli
July 24, 2022 at 12:40 pm
Dont understand why is okeay to people copy original work from Chinese even there is people who copy other people. But if you didnt know all world have plagiarize problem, not only China. But China get promote for most about this. Not saying its fine, but this cultural appropriation is just wrong thing as well as those people from China who make fake things. There are original designers and traditional culture, which we should support. They should all be respected, otherwise everyone is no different from someone who can only plagiarized.
Whatif
July 24, 2022 at 12:44 pm
If people thing its fine because there are Chinese who copy and say they cant complain when they get this. Would you prefer that in the future copying be increased in China and maybe they also think that it is the only way to act when the original work or culture cannot be protected or complain that it has been copied.
Its fin
July 24, 2022 at 12:47 pm
Can Korean people just stop whe know ypu can not read Chinese character, ypu can even not make difference between horsetail and horseface. And no there is not a tomb info about it, because you people broke mural painting when try to steal it.
Sisi
July 30, 2022 at 3:40 am
China’s history definitely been interrupted when they were forced to wear that long braid.
Sisi
July 30, 2022 at 3:44 am
Dior only mentioned their classic silhouette, took no credit for the pleats and cut. Can people have an idea of silhouette before accusing others?