By Tania Branigan
Chinese fashion photographer Guo Jian has apologized for sending a tweet in Chinese that insulted Italy’s Vogue magazine.
In the Tweet, Guo commented that a Vogue article was “fascist and sexist”, and said Vogue was a “gang of thieves” for being photographed by one of the worst, Han Chong. Guo’s tweet referenced an article for Vogue China titled “Dior and the Death of Western Fashion” which made fun of a blogpost by the Chinese blogger Han Chong.
Han Chong appeared before reporters at a press conference on Monday in Milan, Italy, the daily newspaper Corriere della Sera reported. He apologised for insulting Guo on Twitter and said he had deleted the original tweet to try to make peace.
Guo’s entire Instagram account has been deleted, but the following comment on his Twitter account still remains:
this is for people like @hanwangbang who are helping China’s tradition, tell them it’s time to go 🖕🏼🚫 pic.twitter.com/iv2MtRLOaB — hai (@guojiang) February 15, 2018
Guo, known as the “fashion philosopher”, gained a reputation for his heady mix of pop culture and unusual imagery, depicting citizens of Communist China, North Korea and Mongolia wearing Western clothes. The costumes were normally carefully camouflaged – some in leather, PVC or even both.
In one image, Chinese soldiers played a low-key version of the game chess wearing US army boots. In another, a large portrait of former dictator Mao Zedong hung from the top of a New York skyscraper dressed in a black leather jacket and black hat.
Han Chong is known for his eccentric style – photography that has involved participants dressed as characters from myth, cultural iconography and pop culture. He is currently writing a book entitled “The Chinese Dandy” about his own aesthetic.