Title: Rediscovering the Cheongsam: A Cultural Approach

Speaker: Thomas Cheung

Date: Tuesday, December 5th, 2017  

Time: 7pm

Language: Cantonese  

Register at: visitors@liangyimuseum.com

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Often featured in nostalgic movies and advertisements, a cheongsam (literally, ‘long dress’) is a tight-fitting dress noted for its elegant silhouette. Some suggest that the modern cheongsam is derived from the traditional dress that Manchus wore, which was wider and looser. Cheongsams were extremely popular among the upper class and celebrities in Shanghai during the 1920s, and saw its golden age in Hong Kong in the 1950s-60s.

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Although a cheongsam ceased being a staple in Hong Kong in the 1970s, some would argue it is currently staging a comeback. In this lecture, Dr. Brenda Li explores the cultural symbolism of the cheongsam as well as the changes and development of this iconic dress in the past century.

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Dr. Li was the project researcher for the exhibition A Century of Fashion: Hong Kong Cheongsam Story organised by the Hong Kong Museum of History in 2013, and advisor to Cheongsam Connect, a local non-profit organisation founded in 2015 aimed at reviving and promoting the cheongsam.