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LIFE> Fashion
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The sham behind the runway glam
By Chen Jie (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-02-27 09:37
The 2006 box office hit The Devil Wears Prada and the American TV series Ugly Betty were two Western productions that shone the spotlight on the fashion industry. Now, a Chinese theater production Fashion Made in China, which will run at the Poly Theater from March 12 to 15, is set to sharpen the focus. In The Devil Wears Prada, Meryl Streep is the feisty editor-in-chief who dominates the fashion world from her perch atop Runway magazine, while in Ugly Betty, the main protagonist works as an assistant at Mode, a fashion magazine headquartered in Manhattan. The setting of Fashion Made in China is also a leading fashion magazine. Its editor-in-chief Zhang announces his retirement, appointing his deputy Ren Yan as his successor. However, junior assistant Yang Xiaode is accidentally catapulted to the post. Meanwhile, Linda, returning from Paris, becomes the deputy editor-in-chief. Yang wants to promote Chinese designers and is keen to do a runway show to showcase local designers. But the snobbish Linda is a slave to Western trends and labels. This clash leads to a series of funny incidents, with a hefty dose of office politics adding much spice to the proceedings. Directed by Chen Wei, whose credit includes the popular drama The Fried Dough Twist (2006) and The Cuckoo's Nest Flied (2007), this first play on China's fashion industry has a cast of young actors and actresses and real models. The 23-year-old Zhang Junning, a graduate of the Shanghai Academy of Drama, plays Yang and shows his talent for singing and dancing. After graduating from the Academy, Zhang Junning mainly acted in television and movies, rather than in plays. "So I felt somewhat out of place the first few days in the rehearsal room. But director Chen helped put me at ease. Gradually, I began to grow into the role of an ambitious young man who loves fashion and tries to promote local designers to the world," says Zhang. Yan Qin plays Ren Yan who is no "devil" but a good-hearted fashion editor who supports local designers. Linda, a model in real-life, plays the editor Linda from Paris while model Li Siyu plays a supermodel who has enjoyed fame abroad but she too supports the local designers. Like the lavish costumes in the film The Devil Wears Prada, the play also features clothes designed by established Chinese designer Guo Pei and rising young designers Zhou Xiangyu, Zhang Chi and Fan Ran. |
