Foreign Husbands make model Toms

A Western face fills a large billboard in downtown Shanghai. Jing Wei

Tom Husband has been turning heads since he came to Beijing, though that's not what he wanted to do. The tall Briton actually came to China to teach English but fate had something else in store for him: modeling.

And believe it or not, despite being the most recognized and sought after Western model in China, 28-year-old Husband is still camera shy. That's surprising because he grew up in front of a camera, literally. His older sister is a professional photographer, and practised her art using him as a model almost every day. He concedes, though, that he doesn't mind the positive looks around the city.

"What springs to mind is the sheer ease with which I have entered the world of modeling here in China," says Husband with a bemused grin.

Luck break has seen Tom Husband become hot property. Courtesy of Tom Husband

And it seems something similar is taking place on the streets of Shanghai, too. Western faces can be seen on billboards everywhere despite the small number of foreigners living there.

"I became part of the modeling industry in China by coincidence," says Husband, who was encouraged by a former student with contacts in the modeling industry to try his luck.

Husband was hesitant initially because he didn't consider himself as slim as standard European models. But after visiting an agency, and eventually going on a photo shoot, the Briton now earns much more as a Beijing poster boy than he would have as teacher.

"I believe it's much harder for Chinese models to start a career here in China. It's phenomenal to see so many Western images in the big cities," he says.

Husband may be right in his assessment that it's harder for local models to get noticed in China. An example would be supermodel Du Juan who, The Wall Street Journal reported last September, had to make it big abroad before creating an impact at home.

On his first photo shoot, a nervous Tom was dressed in what he loves to calls "the paradigm" of a real English gentleman. For him, sleek hair and fine suits indicate what the clients want to project: a sense of foreign flair. Husband says the reason why Western models like him have such an easy time in China is related to selling that foreign flair at all levels.

The Western models' phenomenon in China is confirmed by the industry, too. For instance, 30 percent of models of ESEE Model Management in Shanghai are foreigners, says Johnny Zheng. And the demand for more is growing fast.

ESEE gets requests for foreign models almost every day, and Zheng says it's relatively easy for a Western model to get an assignment in China.

This is because of the small pool of Western talent available in the country. In reality, the demand for Chinese models is far more.

Zheng has an answer for those wondering why so many advertisements in China carry Western faces: "Domestic clients want to prove their international influence by employing Western models because that's exactly what consumers look for."

Professor Yu Hai, of the School of Social Development and Public Policy at Fudan University, says "blind faith" in Western images is what has led to this phenomenon. "Western models that represent fashion and an exquisite lifestyle for Chinese are merely tools employed by advertising companies to cater to our society's blind faith in consumerism.

"It confuses values because young people who since childhood have been immersed in an environment with many foreign features tend to think that foreign images equal high fashion and high quality."

The prestigious women's magazine Elle reflects how young women view themselves in the world of fashion. An Elle manager says about 50 percent of the magazine's content acts as a pool for what is considered "global resources".

"Elle is an international fashion brand with a mission to introduce a first-class lifestyle to its readers, so it's natural for Western faces to appear frequently. In order to introduce the latest fashion, we have to, for example, feature shots taken in Paris or Milan." That should not be seen as a simple choice between Western and Chinese faces, the manager says.

"We seldom take that into account when we try to convey the ideas of fashion and beauty to our readers. Our fashion shoots feature both Western and Chinese faces."

Many people in the domestic advertising agencies are evasive when asked about the demand for foreign models.

The products that advertising companies promote with Western models usually are automobiles, watches, fashion accessories, high-quality consumer goods and alcohol such as brandy, which is not made in China.

Shanghai-based Leo Burnett Advertising Co's creative director Steven Kong said that ad campaigns for imported automobiles will always feature Western models because their image goes well with the product.

Attic Advertising's Eddie added that using a local or "global" face depends on the concept of the advertisement. "But they still use Western models in ad campaigns for some local products, especially when manufacturers want to portray them as foreign made."

(China Daily 03/08/2007 page19)