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The Chinese label subverting masculine stereotypes for a ‘gender-fluid generation’

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The Chinese label subverting masculine stereotypes for a ‘gender-fluid generation’

Written by Oscar Holland, CNN

The subject of masculinity — and perceived threats to it — seems to be more and more delicate in right now’s China. The nation’s state broadcaster has moved to ban exhibits portraying “effeminate types,” training officers have proposed methods to fight “feminization” in colleges and state media has decried the “sickly aesthetics” that propel younger “gender-ambiguous” males to stardom.

For the co-founders of menswear label Pronounce, whose androgynous collections defy categorization, the headlines belie an rising actuality among the many nation’s youth. In actual fact, Chinese language-born Yushan Li and Jun Zhou see a “disconnect” between official attitudes and what’s occurring at floor degree.

“The ambiance on the web has grow to be increasingly more conservative,” Li mentioned over the telephone from Shenzhen. “However we have been again residing in China since (the beginning of) Covid-19, connecting with a whole lot of younger individuals, and it is only a actually gender-fluid technology. Persons are going to just accept it will definitely.

“Once I was younger, related discussions had been additionally occurring,” he added. “Masculinity and the concept boys have to be males — these matters have all the time existed in our Asian tradition.”

Although thought-about a menswear label, Pronounce typically exhibits its gender-neutral designs on feminine fashions. Credit score: Courtesy of Pronounce

Pronounce could also be broadly thought-about a males’s model — even changing into, in 2019, the primary Chinese language label to stage a runway present at Italy’s most prestigious menswear occasion, Pitti Uomo — however the pair would not design with a selected demographic in thoughts. As an alternative each female and male fashions are used to showcase their loose-fitting but structural creations, which had been made to be worn by anybody “who’s curious, who loves new and fascinating stuff, who desires to be assured,” Li mentioned.

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Bridging worlds

In addition to its progressive perspective to gender, Pronounce’s enchantment in Europe attracts from its founders’ means to bridge the aesthetic divide between East and West.

Having each studied in London earlier than launching Pronounce in 2016, Zhou and Li headquartered their label between Shanghai and — earlier than the pandemic struck — Milan. With Zhou drawn to Italian tailoring heritage and Li extra targeted on Asian crafting (“that is why we now have a whole lot of arguments,” the latter joked, “however we discover a steadiness on the finish of the day”), the pair have established a popularity for incorporating Chinese language influences into their work.

The famous Terracotta Warriors are among the Chinese themes that Li and Zhou have incorporated into their designs.

The well-known Terracotta Warriors are among the many Chinese language themes that Li and Zhou have integrated into their designs. Credit score: Courtesy of Pronounce

Their Spring-Summer time 2020 assortment, for example, noticed photographs of the nation’s iconic Terracotta Warriors printed on outsized turtlenecks and wide-legged denims. However nods to their homeland are sometimes subtler and expressed by shapes, patterns or supplies, from woven bamboo vests to trendy iterations of the “Mao fits” broadly worn in China after the nation’s communist revolution within the late Nineteen Forties.

Of their designs, the duo has performed with the proportions, traces and sleeve lengths of Mao fits for successive collections. Variations have are available in pink with enlarged collars or embroidered with delicate gold thread. Different interpretations of the tunic noticed Li and Zhou use fishnet cloth to disclose fashions’ pores and skin, or cinch the clothes on the waist earlier than buttoning them up with butterfly-shaped fasteners.

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“We’re actually obsessive about Mao fits,” Li mentioned. “We predict individuals who put on them look actually good-looking, actually charming — the silhouette, the sensation once they’re worn, the actually optimistic vitality.”

A contemporary take on the "Mao suits" widely worn in China after the communist revolution.

A up to date tackle the “Mao fits” broadly worn in China after the communist revolution. Credit score: Courtesy of Pronounce

Pronounce’s newest assortment, unveiled digitally at London Style Week in February, epitomizes this strategy. In a blur of weighty woolen overcoats, shaggy knee-high boots and animal-horn equipment, appears impressed by Mongolian and Tibetan cultures flashed on display towards a backdrop of colourful patterned rugs.

Dubbed “Fashionable Nomads,” the venture was knowledgeable by the robes and outerwear discovered on the Tibetan plateau, and the pair’s journey to Internal Mongolia, the place most of China’s ethnic Mongol minority reside (visiting Mongolia itself, or Tibet, was dominated out resulting from pandemic-era journey restrictions, Li mentioned). After spending time with the area’s nomadic communities and buying native textiles for reference, the designers put their very own spin on rugged, textured clothes made to climate powerful situations.

An overcoat from the label's new collection, "Modern Nomads."

An overcoat from the label’s new assortment, “Fashionable Nomads.” Credit score: Courtesy of Pronounce

By reinterpreting what they present in a gender-neutral fashion, the label’s founders hoped to play on Chinese language stereotypes that hyperlink nomadic cultures with sometimes masculine traits.

“The boys are tremendous robust, tremendous powerful,” Li mentioned. “However we discovered that the Mongolian lady are actually powerful as effectively. Even enjoying with the little youngsters, we noticed that they had began (elevating animals) and constructing homes. It is past gender, past technology — it is a part of their DNA. For these of us who reside in cities, it is so completely different, and so they had such a huge impact on us.”

Avoiding cliche

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In spanning visible languages, Pronounce’s problem is, partly, discovering Asian motifs which might be acquainted sufficient to resonate with international audiences with out veering into stereotypes.

“This can be a subject we mentioned from the start of our model,” Li mentioned. “The way to eliminate cliche, or to have our personal (take) on these actually well-known types.”

Because of this, he added, the model has steered away from basic clothes just like the qipao, the form-fitting costume broadly related to China within the Western creativeness. “We could not discover a answer and do not have (a novel interpretation) of that fashion but,” Li mentioned, “so we have not touched it.”

Pronounce's recent collaboration with Puma was inspired by the ancient Pumapunku temple complex in Bolivia.

Pronounce’s latest collaboration with Puma was impressed by the traditional Pumapunku temple advanced in Bolivia. Credit score: Puma

Nor does the model need to pigeonhole itself, as Li and Zhou look past China for inspiration. Pronounce’s Spring-Summer time 2019 assortment, for example, was based mostly on the pair’s journey to flower markets in India, whereas a latest collaboration with Puma appeared to the traditional Pumapunku temple advanced in Bolivia.

“It is not like, ‘We’re Chinese language designers, so we now have to do this sort of fashion,’” Li mentioned. “It is extra that we now have actually robust emotions about one thing, after which we now have that come out.”

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Live news: SingPost shares slump after CEO fired over handling of whistleblower report

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Live news: SingPost shares slump after CEO fired over handling of whistleblower report

While the holiday spirit will dominate the news agenda, there are notable developments to watch across the world, as the three defining themes of 2024 — elections, war and inflation — continue to hum in the background.

On Tuesday, Moldova’s pro-EU president-elect Maia Sandu will attend her inauguration. Her narrow election victory in October, despite alleged Russian meddling in the process, will set the former Soviet country on a path to EU membership.

Maia Sandu © Dumitru Doru/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Georgia, on the other hand, will on Sunday swear in Mikheil Kavelashvili to the presidency, a pro-Russian firebrand and Croatia will hold a first-round presidential vote on Sunday.

On Monday, Mozambique’s top court is set to give a verdict on the country’s disputed election in October, while Albanian opposition parties block roads demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama’s resignation

Bank of Japan governor Kazuo Ueda will deliver a speech on Christmas Day. Economists will pore over his words for clues on how president-elect Donald Trump’s tariffs will affect the pace and trajectory of monetary policy.

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UK third-quarter GDP figures will be out on Monday, after months of disappointing economic releases for chancellor Rachel Reeves.

Read more in The Week Ahead

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Who is Sebastian Zapeta? Guatemala migrant set a woman on fire on New York City subway

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Who is Sebastian Zapeta? Guatemala migrant set a woman on fire on New York City subway

A Guatemala migrant has been arrested for allegedly setting a woman on fire and burned to death on a subway train in Brooklyn, New York, early Sunday morning. The incident occurred at the Stillwell Avenue Subway station in Coney Island around 7:30 a.m.

NYPD apprehends suspect after deadly subway attack; community rallies for justice.(Mario Nawfal)

The suspect, identified as 33-year-old Sebastin Zapeta, is believed to have entered the US from Guatemala approximately a year ago. It remains unclear whether he entered the country legally or illegally.

During a press conference Sunday evening, New York Police Department (NYPD) officials, including Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, explained, “As the train pulled into the station, the suspect calmly walked up to the victim. The female victim was in a seated position.”

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“The suspect used what we believe to be a lighter to ignite the victim’s clothing, which became fully engulfed in a matter of seconds.”

Officers on patrol at the station were alerted to the situation by the smell and sight of smoke. While responding at the scene, they discovered a person inside the train car fully engulfed in flames. The fire was extinguished with assistance from an MTA employee using a fire extinguisher. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

Elon Musk and Mayor Eric Adams condemns subway attack

Zapeta remained at the scene after the incident. He was found seated on a bench outside the train car. Body-worn cameras worn by responding officers captured clear footage of the suspect. Tisch noted, “Body-worn cameras on the responding officers produced a clear and detailed look at the killer.”

Following the release of the suspect’s description and photographs to the public, three high school students recognized the man and called 911. Transit officers confirmed the description and located the suspect on a moving train. The train was stopped at the next station, where officers boarded, identified the man, and arrested him without further incident.

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New York City Mayor Eric Adams expressed his condolences to the victim’s family, calling the attack a “senseless killing.”

“Grateful to the young New Yorkers and transit officers who stepped up to help our NYPD make a quick arrest following this morning’s heinous and deadly subway attack. This type of depraved behaviour has no place in our subways, and we are committed to working hard to ensure there is swift justice for all victims of violent crime.”

Tesla boss Elon Musk also took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his frustration. “Enough is enough,” he posted, along with the Guatemala migrant’s subway CCTV shot.

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Trump names Treasury adviser from first term to chair economic panel

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Trump names Treasury adviser from first term to chair economic panel

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Donald Trump has tapped Stephen Miran, an economist who served during his first term, to chair his Council of Economic Advisers.

With the nomination, the president-elect is seeking to elevate to a White House economic post not only a critic of Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell but one who has accused the Biden administration of manipulating the economy and “usurping” the central bank’s role.

“Steve will work with the rest of my Economic Team to deliver a Great Economic Boom that lifts up all Americans,” Trump said in a statement on Sunday.

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Miran was a senior adviser for economic policy at the Treasury department in the first Trump administration.

Currently a senior strategist at hedge fund Hudson Bay Capital Management, he said he was honoured. “I look forward to working to help implement the President’s policy agenda to create a booming, noninflationary economy that brings prosperity to all Americans!” he posted on X.

The White House Council of Economic Advisers is a three-person group that advises the president on economic policy.

Trump has threatened US trading partners, vowing to impose sweeping tariffs, including 25 per cent levies on goods from Mexico and Canada and 10 per cent on China’s imports, on his first day in office.

On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to impose blanket levies of 20 per cent on all US imports, as well as tariffs of 60 per cent on those from China, suggesting his second-term policies could be more protectionist and disruptive to the global economy and markets than his first.

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The president-elect has also pledged to renew tax cuts he enacted during his first spell in the White House.

Earlier this year, Miran co-wrote a paper accusing Biden’s Treasury department of manipulating the economy during the election, arguing the government’s dependence on short-term debt amounted to “stealth quantitative easing and impedes the Fed’s ability to fight inflation.

“By adjusting the maturity profile of its debt issuance, Treasury is dynamically managing financial conditions and, through them, the economy, usurping core functions of the Federal Reserve”, he wrote with economist Nouriel Roubini.

“We dub this novel tool ‘activist Treasury issuance,’ or ATI. By manipulating the amount of interest-rate risk owned by investors, ATI works through the same channels as the Fed’s quantitative easing programs.”

In FT Alphaville last year, Miran co-authored a piece warning against the perils of a two-tier bond market, which “would impair Treasuries’ ability to serve as risk-free collateral underpinning the global financial system” and bring to the US the chaos of a defaulting emerging economy.

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Miran has also hit out at Powell for urging more aggressive fiscal and monetary stimulus in October 2020, about a month before that year’s election, to aid the economic recovery amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Powell was wrong politically and economically when he urged Congress to ‘go big’ on fiscal stimulus in October of 2020, on the eve of a Presidential election, suggesting that voters favour Democrats’ $3 trillion proposals over Republicans’ $500 billion”, Miran wrote on X in September. “We know what happened next.”

Miran must be confirmed by the US Senate.

Last month, Trump named Kevin Hassett as chair of the National Economic Council.

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