A significant number of Asian and Oriental men have eclipsed the runway shows in Milan, London and Paris over the last few seasons. Model Godfrey Gao is the first Asian spokesperson for Louis Vuitton. Paolo Roldan appeared in Vogue Paris and Givenchy and the Filipino-Canadian is represented by Boss New York. Daniel Liu has been featured in Target and Uniqlo campaigns. Philip Huang is a California-born Taiwanese-American who has been featured in Kenzo, Tommy Hilfiger, and Lord and Taylor campaigns. He is shorter than the average male model at (a still very tall) 6 feet, but the top labels such as Dries van Noten, Valentino, and Gucci love him.
Asia: New Target Audience
Designer Nachiket Barve says, “Luxury is influenced by commerce, everything else is saturated. Brands use models keeping in mind the target audience. A lot of western menswear designers use Nehru collars and paisley prints. How many men in India would wear tartan for weddings?”
Designer Amalraj Sengupta says, “The target market of the luxury brands abroad are Asians because they are the largest consumers. Most of the luxury brands are opening stores in Asian countries so that is the best way to attract consumers and connect with them. It’s seen in a survey that the luxury brands are investing money in e-commerce and Asia is the highest consumer.”
A new flavour
Designer Wendell Rodricks says, “Fashion loves the exotic. There was a time when Pondicherry born Satya Oblet became the rage in Paris for his dark Indian skin, light eyes and bleached hair and beard. When an unusual face hits the runway, whether black, brown, Japanese or Chinese, it adds an international world flavour to the collection. With the world as a global village, it is no wonder that Asia is taking the centre stage... even in fashion. When I do an international ad, the agencies in Paris tell me, ‘Give us a look which is European but will satisfy customers in the Middle East, Russia, China, India and Brazil’. Obviously, these areas of the world is where the money is today.”
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