Pair behind Fecal Matter brand and two other designers were denied entry to imperial palace complex over ‘disrespectful’ avant-garde dress
Four foreign fashion designers have been denied entry to Beijing’s Forbidden City for wearing “dark and strange” clothes.
The four – Rick Owens and Michele Lamy, as well as Hannah Rose Dalton and Steven Raj Bhaskaran, the co-founders of the brand Fecal Matter – were criticised in official media for showing no respect for China’s history and culture.
The group, some of whom were wearing heavy make-up, posed for photographs at the entrance to the heritage site on Tuesday before being told to change clothes or leave.
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Fecal Matter published an Instagram story saying security told them to “remove our make-up and change into normal clothes and then we could get in”, but they had refused to do so.
They described the incident as “humiliating and dehumanising” but added: “We understand and accept we don’t have access to the whole world. It’s the price we pay for being ourselves without compromising our values.
“What we take away from this experience is more determination to keep doing what we do to fight for more acceptance and tolerance for difference around the world. Provoking and pushing the boundaries to fight against those who try to box people in and remove the freedom of expression.”
The Forbidden City has yet to make an official announcement on the issue.
An editorial in the official Beijing Daily newspaper defended the decision, saying: “Respect is mutual. In this case, it’s clearly not that these people’s freedom to dress is not respected, but rather that they don’t respect Chinese history and culture.”
It said there was “nothing wrong” with fashion and avant-garde dress but it was still important to “observe public order” and show “respect for cultural etiquette, and concern for the feelings of others”.
It pointed out that the museum said no one would be allowed to enter unless they were “properly dressed”, adding: “Owens and his entourage were dressed in ‘dark and strange’ attire, and in fact attracted frequent stares from passers-by.”
Fecal Matter, which has previously worked with Owens as well as well-known brands such as Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen, also posted on Instagram that “the rest of the trip so far in China is going amazing”.
The Forbidden City, built in the 15th century, was once home to the Ming and Qing dynasty emperors and has featured in a number of photo shoots for Western artists and directors. The only movie allowed to shoot there was Bernardo Bertolucci’s Oscar-winning film
The Last Emperor
in 1987.
Many social media users defended the Forbidden City’s decision, saying the four should respect China’s cultural heritage.
“It’s their freedom to dress how they like, and it’s the Forbidden City’s freedom to not let them in,” a user on Xiaohongshu said.
“I think we should respect each other, no one will allow a Chinese to wear a bikini to get into a foreign church, right?” said another.
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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.
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