毛皮大衣惹毛中国网民; Furry Coat Sparks Fury in China

[aRNoLD]

Furry Coat Sparks Fury in China

Nothing says “I support the government’s austerity campaign” like a flashy coat on the steps of the Great Hall of the People.

Li Xiaolin, the chairwoman of state-run electricity giant China Power International Development Ltd. and daughter of former premier Li Peng, is coming under fire on China’s social networking sites after appearing in a striped, furry-looking trench coat on Monday at the opening ceremony of the 11th National Women’s Congress, a legislative meeting aimed at improving women’s status in China.

Users of China’s Twitter-like social-media site Sina Weibo attacked Ms. Li for her luxury look. “Such an obvious show-off of wealth,” said Zhang Xinke, a fashion designer, on his verified Weibo account . Much of the criticism came from the perception that Ms. Li’s coat was fur. Animal rights groups circulated videos of animal killings next to Ms. Li’s photos.

China Real Time has been unable to verify the brand of Ms. Li’s coat. A spokesman for China Power International Development said, when asked the price and brand, that the coat is “very ordinary.” He declined to provide the price and the brand but said that the material is fabric with leopard print, not fur.

Ms. Li’s bold fashion statement comes amid a government austerity campaign that has taken direct aim at luxury goods and bureaucratic members who buy them or show them off. Chinese President Xi Jinping launched the upscale upheaval last December to repair the Communist Party’s image, which has been hit by a string of corruption scandals and has highlighted the disparity between lifestyles of average citizens and so-called “princelings,” or sons and daughters of top leaders.

The austerity campaign has inspired fashion makeovers – or, rather, make-unders — for hundreds of bureaucrats who have downgraded their designer Fendi bags for local brands since 2012, when the public criticized delegates who showed up in luxury gear to congressional meetings .

Xu Jiayin, a Chinese property tycoon who earned the nickname Brother Belt after he was spotted wearing a signature Hermès belt at the 2012 parliamentary meetings, held up his pants at this year’s sessions with a belt made by local brand Septwolves.

But many online believe little has changed for Ms. Li, who was held up as the “What Not to Wear” example in 2012, sporting a $2,000 suit from Italian designer Emilio Pucci. “Is it a rich woman’s representative conference?” wrote one Sina Weibo user. Another said, “Is it a wealth show? Fashion show?”

Of course, some online had more to say about Ms. Li’s choice of style than of the potential high price of her outerwear. “Which national costume is this?” wrote one Sina Weibo user, comparing the trench to the ornamental outfits that China’s ethnic minorities typically wear to legislative meetings.

Another user compared Ms. Li’s striped selection to that of a chipmunk .

– Laurie Burkitt and Lilian Lin, with contributions from Yang Jie

source: http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2013/10...hina/tab/print/

references:
1. austerity campaign: 中共中央反铺张浪费运动
2. under fire: 指在中国社交媒体网站上受到网民指责和攻击
3. striped, furry-looking trench coat: 带条纹的似皮草大衣
4. show-off of wealth: 炫富
5. princeling: 文中此处指太子党
6. signature: 限量版、签名版