Dior draws online criticism for the design of traditional Chinese dressings

SHANGHAI — Dior has sparked controversy on the Chinese internet for a midi skirt that online viewers said resembled traditional Chinese clothing from the Ming Dynasty.

Chinese Internet users have criticized the French luxury house for not recognizing its possible Chinese origin. The hashtag "Dior plagiarism" made Weibo's hot search list on Saturday and received 13.7 million clicks on the Chinese social media platform.

However, when the skirt was previewed by WWD in December and shown on the runway in Seoul in April, at the same time it became available in stores, the catwalk notes artistic director for women Maria Grazia Chiuri said the collection aimed to pay homage to Catherine, Christian Dior's sister, and was inspired by uniforms, especially school uniforms. “Maria Grazia Chiuri was interested in school outfits and, above all, in the way students dust off, revamp and update the tropes of these clothes, personalizing them with distinctive details, bordering on punk, before s 'adventuring through urban landscapes in search of spaces of freedom,' read the show's notes.

The $3,800 black pleated skirt has sparked controversy among Hanfu enthusiasts in China, a popular subculture group that appreciates traditional Chinese clothing worn by people of the Han Dynasty. They alleged that the black wool and mohair wrap skirt closely resembled a Ma Mian skirt, or horse-head skirt, which was popular in the Ming dynasty.

The skirt is marked as "sold out" on the Hong Kong site and cannot be found on the Dior mainland China website.

Dior did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Some Chinese netizens thought Dior's product description was not misleading, saying the A-line skirt was reminiscent of the brand's New Look silhouette.

But despite Dior's explanation that the inspiration was school uniforms - which have included pleated skirts for decades - Chinese netizens have argued that the one-piece skirt has the same construction as the Ma Mian skirt, which has front and back slits and pleated sides, originally designed to make riding easier for women. The only difference is the length. An Orthodox Ma Mian skirt is floor-length, while the Dior version is below the knee.

The state media's People's Daily Online opinion section responded with a message asking Dior to comment on the matter.

"Without revealing any trade secrets, Dior should be as candid as possible about the skirt design process," the post reads. “Industry insiders and copyright experts joined the discussion. It can be a chance to understand the line between plagiarism, design reference and paying homage to something."

This is not the first time that Dior has been the subject of controversy in China. In November 2021, Chinese netizens accused the brand of featuring photos of famous Chinese fashion photographer Chen Man at an art exhibition in Shanghai. The show featured one of Chen's earliest works taken in 2012. The image showed a young Chinese woman dressed in traditional Chinese clothing holding a Lady Dior bag. Chen has been accused of perpetuating Western stereotypes of Asian faces, such as the slanted eye.

The state-run Global Times also criticized Chen for his "Young Pioneer" series filmed around the same time for "touching child pornography and insulting the Young Pioneers", the youth wing of the Communist Party of China.

Chen issued a formal apology a week later, saying that his "early artistic views were not yet fully formed", which made previous works "lacking in thought". Dior removed the photo from display and said the brand "takes online sentiment very seriously" and "respects the Chinese people".

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