AnAlienWithInternetAccess

I received the following message via chat from a follower, that I would like to share here:

Hi, 小紫, do you know that Dior appropriates the modernized mamianqun designed by some hanfu brands in china? link of discussion about Dior 2022 A/W show on weibo: https://weibo.com/6323095999/LChcJyPTa?refer_flag=1001030103_&type=repost#_rnd1657858224778 , I think Dior indeed directly referenced the structure of how it’s pleated and inner cutouts of mamianqun which has a long history dated back to ming dynasty and influenced the shape of qing dynasty skirts as well, it is sussy, look how the DIOR model turned around when the skirt spread to reveal the split style, this is indeed the unique inner structure of mamianqun, a more rigorous examination requires DIOR to show the flat design, but Dior is not responding, it claims on the official website that this is their exclusive style launched this year, yet the same style of mamianqun has been prevalent among young people in China for several years, there are several taobao stores making exactly this kind of modernized mamianqun since 2018 or even early (metal leather buckle belt + fabric suitable for autumn and winter + long skirts), such as 四时景, 你好美荔, etc., I don’t know how to make it an anonymous ask for you to post my question but I would like to listen to your and other followers’ comments on this, thank you 小紫(also feel totally free not to post this one, it’s your blog and you make the call ❤️

Here is a screenshot of Dior’s official shop with the skirt in question: 

And here are screenshots of the skirt being displayed on the runway:

Although I am not an expert on tailoring, it does look extremely similar to a Chinese mamianqun/马面裙 (horse-face skirt). Below is an actual modern mamianqun from hanfu brand 你好美荔’s 2018 collection, for comparison:

And here’s a reference sheet on Ming dynasty mamianqun history & construction:

Below is a summary of key points of Chinese netizens’ comments on Weibo:

Based on tailoring and construction, Dior took direct reference from mamianqun for this skirt

However, this is not necessarily “wrong” in and of itself. After all, fashion brands take inspiration from different cultures all the time

What IS wrong, and what is leading to the backlash from Chinese netizens, is that Dior is claiming that the skirt uses an “iconic Dior silhouette” (标志性的Dior廓形) and is a “completely new…fashion item” (全新的优雅时尚单品). See below for screenshot of the item description on their shop, using these exact words:

Personally, I agree with all of the above points. The act of a Western fashion house such as Dior taking inspiration from (or directly using) sartorial styles from other cultures is not new. It is also, in my opinion, not necessarily wrong - as long as due credit is given to the culture(s) that served as a reference for the styles. I do not believe that a historic fashion house like Dior is unaware of the existence of mamianqun. After all, even Princess Diana wore a Qing dynasty-style mamianqun before, in 1981 (x): 

Claiming that the style is totally original and unique to Dior, even an “iconic silhouette” of the brand, is disingenuous in the extreme and deserves to be called out. 

When I was a child, from the time I was about four and could understand things, my mom told me and my brother that we should have a secret word. That way, if we were ever in trouble or felt unsafe and we didn’t want the people around us to know we needed her to come get us, we could let her know. So she let us pick the word and my brother and I chose the phrase “peanut butter cups.” (I’m happy to share the phrase now since both my brother and I are adults now). 

I used the phrase twice in my life. Once, I was at a friends house when I eight years old. Her dad got really drunk and was throwing things against the wall. I was really scared and I didn’t want to draw attention to myself on the phone when I called my mom to come get me because I didn’t know if he would get more violent if I asked her to come get me. So I called her and was calm and after a couple minutes I asked “Hey mommy, did you get me those peanut butter cups from the store?” And she said “I’ll be right there.” And she came and got me within minutes. 

Second, I was a teenager spending the night at a friends house. Her brother and dad were drinking and they started talking about things that made me uncomfortable - ie: what they liked to do to women. My friend didn’t seem perturbed and said that was normal for them and that I shouldn’t worry. But I was worried because they were really drunk and I was 15 and the only ‘woman’ around that wasn’t related to them. I went in my friends room, told her I needed to call my mom and say goodnight. Before I hung up with her I asked “Next time we go to the store, can we get some peanut butters cups? I’ve been craving them.” And she came and got me, just like that. 

Even if you just ask the child “Do you know this person” if the adult butt’s in make sure to ASK THE CHILD! Even a shy kid will tell you they don’t know this person or just met them or something!

(disclaimer: not all of this should be taken seriously)

ARIES

extrovert // talkative, always smiling, partyhopping every night, dresses colorfully, COMPETITIVE, kinda mean but hides it well, probably calls themselves a foodie unironically

introvert // only talks to their immediate family, hates people but is always nice to them, cat lover, two-faced, still wants to be popular

TAURUS

extrovert // can talk to anyone, spends all their money on gourmet shit they don’t need, hugs every animal, has too many friends, highkey forgetful

introvert // passive, LAZY, stays in bed 23/6, thinks movie buff is a personality trait, huge music nerd, really caring and kind tbh, imagines themselves to be dr. doolittle and attempts to communicate with every animal

GEMINI

extrovert // communicative, DRAMATIC, tons of acquaintances but hates everybody (and the feeling is mutual), only has 3 real friends, bitchy, bad at keeping secrets, loves art, hoeing

introvert // twitter god, talented but only in strange and kind of useless ways, gets bored really quickly, wants to go home but when they get home just wants to go out, tries to stay healthy but loves their vices, anxious, thinks hella fast

CANCER

extrovert // a spammer irl and on social media, thinks they’re the most interesting person in any room, fundamentally nice but with a shit temper, doesn’t get sick often, gives great advice

introvert // intelligent but can’t focus, has like two (2) friends, loves and hates their mom equally, has hidden talents no one knows about, a good cook

LEO

extrovert // has a total breakdown if they aren’t the center of attention, fast learners but always have one subject they just aren’t good at, overenthusiastic, bossy, loves people but manipulates them, likes to read

introvert // 2 pure 4 this world, loves helping people, SUPPORTIVE, socially anxious but too proud to show it, hides everything from their parents, makes everyone watch their favorite tv shows

VIRGO

extrovert // communicative, organized, a great leader, intelligent af, invented the poker face, ambitious but not power-hungry, achieves things the hard way

introvert // CHAOTIC, thinks everyone hates them, no idea how to communicate properly, intelligent, never takes anyone’s advice

LIBRA

extrovert // always communicating (even when they don’t know what they’re talking about), super sweet, emotional, bad at staying organized, has the best eyebrows, APPEALING, secretly kinky

introvert // loves books and shopping, cat person, believes in soulmates, absent-minded and daydreams a lot, genuine, kind, cries often, forgiving

SCORPIO

extrovert // loves meeting new people, highkey hedonistic and into debauchery, really hot, low self-esteem, loyal to their friends, disorganized

introvert // would die before letting others know how they feel, inappropriate humor, socially awkward, really smart but don’t use their intelligence for important situations

SAGITTARIUS

extrovert // EMOTIONAL AND EVERYONE KNOWS IT, popular, social media gods, loves leading their group of followers – i mean friends, self-centered, thinks they’re always right

introvert // will fight for what they want, intense, scary when mad, can hurt others without meaning to, can also be easily hurt but will never show it, too proud to admit any weakness

CAPRICORN

extrovert // super funny and interesting, speaks their mind, probably weren’t great in school but are very intelligent, daydreams a lot, dark sense of humor, artistic

introvert // has never said a single word to anyone, just waiting for the End, self-centered, doesn’t want to waste time on unimportant conversation with unimportant people, can be really silly, has niche interests, planning for their success

AQUARIUS

extrovert // always partying, popular, in the “scene”, friends with everyone except the people they hate, arrogant, they are aware of this

introvert // epic poker face, sometimes wonder if they’re even human themselves, likes plants, impatient, freaks out if anyone doesn’t like something they’ve done, super nice to everyone, is definitely on tumblr

PISCES

extrovert // GETS. IT. DONE., sets goals and achieves them, VERY emotional, gets cranky fast when things don’t go their way, everything hurts them because they’re sensitive af, always gets revenge, really bad temper

Susanna and the Elders, Restored (Left)

Susanna and the Elders, Restored with X-ray (Right)

For those who don’t know about this painting, the artist was the Baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi.

Gentileschi was a female painter in a time when it was very largely unheard of for a woman to be an artist. She managed to get the opportunity for training and eventual employment because her father, Orazio, was already a well established master painter who was very adamant that she get artistic training. He apparently saw a high degree of skill in some artwork she did as a hobby in childhood. He was very supportive of her and encouraged her to resist the “traditional attitude and psychological submission to brainwashing and the jealousy of her obvious talents.”  

Gentileschi became extremely well known in her time for painting female figures from the Bible and their suffering. For example, the one seen above depicts the story from the Book of Daniel. Susanna is bathing in her garden when two elders began to spy on her in the nude. As she finishes they stop her and tell her that they will tell everyone that they saw her have an affair with a young man (she’s married so this is an offense punishable by death) unless she has sex with them. She refuses, they tell their tale, and she is going to be put to death when the protagonist of the book (Daniel) stops them.

So that painting above? That was her first major painting. She was SEVENTEEN-YEARS-OLD. For context, here is a painting of the same story by Alessandro Allori made just four years earlier in 1606: 

Wowwwww. That does not look like a woman being threatened with a choice between death or rape. So imagine 17 year old Artemisia trying to approach painting the scene of a woman being assaulted. And she paints what is seen in the x-ray above. A woman in horrifying, grotesque anguish with what appears to be a knife poised in her clenched hand. Damn that shit is real. Who wants to guess that she was advised by, perhaps her father or others, to tone it down. Women can’t look that grotesque. Sexual assault can’t be depicted as that horrifying. And women definitely can’t be seen as having the potential to fight back. Certainly not in artwork. Women need to be soft. They need to wilt from their captors but still look pretty and be a damsel in distress. So she changed it. 

What’s interesting to note is that she eventually painted and stuck with some of her own, less traditional depictions of women. However, that is more interesting with some context.  

(Warning for reference to rape, torture, and images of paintings which show violence and blood.)

So, Gentileschi’s story continues in the very next year, 1611, when her father hires Agostino Tassi, an artist, to privately tutor her. It was in this time when Tassi raped her. He then proceeded to promise that he would marry her. He pointed out that if it got out that she had lost her virginity to a man she wasn’t going to marry then it would ruin her. Using this, he emotionally manipulated her into continuing a sexual relationship with him. However, he then proceeded to marry someone else. Horrified at this turn of events she went to her father. Orazio was having none of this shit and took Tassi to court. At that time, rape wasn’t technically an offense to warrant a trial, but the fact that he had taken her virginity (and therefore technically “damaged Orazio’s property”. ugh.) meant that the trial went along. It lasted for 7 months. During this time, to prove the truth of her words, Artemisia was given invasive gynecological examinations and was even questioned while being subjected to torture via thumb screws. It was also discovered during the trial that Tassi was planning to kill his current wife, have an affair with her sister, and steal a number of Orazio’s paintings. Tassi was found guilty and was given a prison sentence of…. ONE. YEAR……. Which he never even served because the verdict was annulled.

During this time and a bit after (1611-1612), Artemisia painted her most famous work of Judith Slaying Holofernes. This bible story involved Holofernes, an Assyrian general, leading troops to invade and destroy Bethulia, the home of Judith. Judith decides to deal with this issue by coming to him, flirting with him to get his guard down, and then plying him with food and lots of wine. When he passed out, Judith and her handmaiden took his sword and cut his head off. Issue averted. The subject was a very popular one for art at the time. Here is a version of the scene painted in 1598-99 by Carivaggio, whom was a great stylistic influence on Artemisia:

This depiction is a pretty good example of how this scene was typically depicted. Artists usually went out of their way to show Judith committing the act (or having committed it) while trying to detach her from the actual violence of it. In this way, they could avoid her losing the morality of her character and also avoid showing a woman committing such aggression. So here we see a young, rather delicate looking Judith in a pure white dress. She is daintily holding down this massive man and looks rather disgusted and upset at having to do this. Now, here is Artemisia’s:

Damn. Thats a whole different scene. Here Holofernes looks less like he’s simply surprised by the goings ons and more like a man choking on his own blood and struggling fruitlessly against his captors. The blood here is less of a bright red than in Carrivaggio’s but is somehow more sickening. It feels more real, and gushes in a much less stylized way than Carrivaggio’s. Not to mention, Judith here is far from removed from the violence. She is putting her physical weight into this act. Her hands (much stronger looking than most depictions of women’s hands in early artwork) are working hard. Her face, as well, is completely different. She doesn’t look upset, necessarily, but more determined. 

It’s also worth note that the handmaiden is now involved in the action. It’s worth note because, during her rape trial, Artemisia stated that she had cried for help during the initial rape. Specifically she had called for Tassi’s female tenant in the building, Tuzia. Tuzia not only ignored her cries for help, but she also denied the whole happening. Tuzia had been a friend of Artemisia’s and in fact was one of her only female friends. Artemisia felt extremely betrayed, but rather than turning her against her own gender, this event instilled in her the deep importance of female relationships and solidarity among women. This can be seen in some of her artwork, and I believe in the one above, as well, with the inclusion of the handmaiden in the act.

So, I just added a million words worth of information dump on a post when no one asked me, but there we go. I could talk for ages about Artemisia as a person and her depictions of women (even beyond what I wrote above. Don’t get me started on her depictions of female nudes in comparison to how male artists painted nude women at the time.) 

To sum up: Artemisia Gentileschi is rad as hell. This x-ray is also rad as hell and makes her even radder.