Super Mario's grand designs for modern China
- By Elsbeth van Paridon
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E-mail China.org.cn, June 19, 2012
Most 17-year-olds across the world have to start weighing their options when those high school graduation caps and unflattering baggy gowns come into sight. Pitting the mind (what would be the reasonable major to choose) against the heart (what do I want to do) is never an easy thing to do; yet most parents will support whatever decision their offspring makes. Those who dream of becoming fashion designers have usually displayed a particular flair for the arts since they were old enough to pick up a crayon.
However, when D-Day in China, the decision-making process can take a slightly different turn. And not necessarily one that leads to the catwalk. Before choosing an academic path in life, all Chinese high school students are required to take the national university entrance exams (高考, gaokao). The scores they obtain from these, and yes, they spend many sleepless nights studying and worrying over this, often determine the course their adult lives will take. Get top scores and you get into a prestigious establishment; get low scores and, well, you get the Testino picture.
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My man Mario |
The spike-studded truth
Fashion design schools, or any faintly artistic majors at lesser known institutes, are usually considered to be on the lower side of the spectrum. This is in stark contest to the West where getting into, let’s say, The School of Fashion at Parsons is considered to be quite the haute ticket. However, such institutions cannot necessarily guarantee their graduates a well-heeled future in the financial sense (although, they do guarantee that you will be wearing a nice pair of heels). China’s one-child-policy, introduced in 1978, is now catching up with the population, in the sense that young adults in their late 20s and early 30s are now facing the huge burden of single-handedly taking care of their aging parents. This concept of ‘child piety’ (孝, xiao) is imbedded in Chinese culture and it is currently clashing with the horizon-broadening forces of globalization, intensifying the external and internal pressures and struggles facing the nation’s young adults. If these young adults do not get into a good school, the chances of them finding a solid, well-paid job are that much slimmer, making the problem of buying a home and providing for the entire family (let alone get the design cutlery du jour), a huge obstacle. I have spoken to several Architecture majors at Tsinghua University who in truth wanted to attend design school, but could not win the battle (of shame) with their parents. Luckily there is always the exception, such as this week’s young designer Mario Duyuchen, whose parents said: “If you’re happy, then so are we.”
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Just another day in Mario's wardrobe |
Around the world in 26 years
Mario Duyuchen is a 26-year-old fashion design graduate from Dalian Polytech University, who was born on Jeju Island to a Korean mother and Chinese father. Right before attending middle school, his father took him by the still bracelet-free hand and brought him back to the Chinese mainland. As a child, Duyuchen always dreamt of being a singer or an actor as he thought they always looked so, and I quote, “nice and shiny on stage”. Being the center of attention wearing fabu designer costumes appealed to him. However, this dream slowly made room for a new one: Duyuchen wanted to be the one flapper dressing those shining stars. So without further ado, he decided to become a fashion designer, a decision which gained further momentum when the teenage Duyuchen visited his uncle who was at that time running a kimchi shop in Rome. The friendly way people treated him, and especially the graceful way in which they were dressed “as if floating through palace hallways” (yes Italians do it better) inspired Duyuchen to create designs that might one day help others attain this level of elegance.
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