HER QIPAO

Date and Time: 17/12/2025 10am-5pm; 18/12/2025 9am-5pm

Location: Somerset House Indigo Room Corridor

This exhibition explores the evolving meanings of the qipao, tracing how this iconic garment has reflected and reshaped Chinese femininity across a century of transformation.

In the early 20th century, the qipao represented modernity and elegance, yet also embodied social expectations of the ideal female body. During the media boom of the late 20th century, it became a cultural and commercial symbol, glamorous but still shaped by the male gaze. Today, in the era of social media and Neo-Chinese fashion, young women are reinterpreting the qipao as an act of self-definition, mixing tradition with individuality, and reclaiming cultural identity on their own terms.

However, this sense of empowerment can be deceptive. On social media, the qipao is praised as a symbol of confidence and culture, but the most liked posts still show the same slim and fair bodies. When empowerment depends on beauty, it is still another kind of control.

Finally, audiences are invited to take part in the Empowerment Workshop, using recycled materials to create collages that express their own understanding of femininity and power. These individual pieces will come together as a collective installation, forming a growing visual dialogue that celebrates diversity and the shared reimagining of empowerment.

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Host or Publisher CMCI Winter Festival 2025