The fast-rising Chinese supermodel Du Juan is one of the first models to bridge the chasm between ideals of feminine beauty in the East and the West. She talks to Clifford Coonan.
here is a world of a difference between what is bewitching to Western eyes and what Chinese people consider beautiful. Chinese supermodel Du Juan - now on the books at the world's number-one agency, IMG - has managed to bridge that chasm. And while there haven't been too many Asian faces on Western runways, in magazine features or on ad campaigns, Du Juan is set to change that.
In the lobby of Beijing's Grand Hyatt hotel, Du looks fresh, understated. Wearing Birkenstock sandals and a polka-dot vest, but no make-up, her hand clutching a cushion . . . and the whole room is drawn to her. Du's face is stunningly beautiful, as you'd expect, and while she's thin, she's far from skinny, possessed of the balanced proportions that have won her global kudos, whether she's walking the ramp for Roberto Cavalli, Bottega Veneta, Emanuel Ungaro and Dries Van Noten, or doing high-profile campaigns for the Gap, Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent, Hermes or Kenzo.
Sure, there are fabulous models such as China's Lu Yan or Korea's Hye Park doing the glossies, the catwalks and the campaigns, all beloved of European and American photographers, but to many consumers in the increasingly important Asian market, these women are plain.
"At Vogue I meet this every day and it's normally a question of either/or - Western photographers look for character, but with the Chinese it's different. The Chinese consider Du Juan pretty - not stunning, but pretty," says Angelica Cheung, editor of Chinese Vogue.
Joanne Ooi, creative director of Chinese clothing chain Shanghai Tang, was among the first to spot Du's ability to blend sensuality with grace and fragility.
"She's unspoiled, modest, thoroughly professional, never a complaint. She's classically beautiful, but very sensual as well. I chose her because her beauty is unique but also universally appealing," says Ooi, who reckons that success will neither spoil Du's work ethic nor inflate her ego.
"Her head is squarely on her shoulders. What most impressed me were her professionalism and desire to do her best at every moment during a shoot," says Ooi.
Look at Du Juan's portfolio. She was the first Asian model to adorn the cover of French Vogue, she has also featured in Italian and Chinese Vogue, Allure and W, and was in the spring 2006 haute couture shows in Paris and the recent shows in New York and Milan. Shanghai-born Du has walked for Chanel, Valentino, Givenchy and Jean Paul Gaultier, Oscar de la Renta, Anne Valerie Hash and Badgley Mishka.
"Her poses are unique and she's got great flexibility. There have been previous China models that have made it onto the runway but Du portrays a very modern Chinese image," says Hong Kong photographer Wing Shya. Patrick Demarchelier, who first shot Du for the cover of Chinese Vogue, says: "She is just so gorgeous. She looks like she should be in the movies."
Du's resumé reads like a fashionista's most-wanted list; she has also worked with Peter Lindberg, Mario Testino, Mert and Marcus, David Sims, Paolo Roversi, Mario Sorrenti, Juergen Teller, and Craig McDean.
Bridging the gap between the Asian and global markets has kept her busy. In October 2005 Paris Vogue's legendary editor Carine Roitfeld put Du Juan on the cover beside Gemma Ward, which set things moving again at high speed for her, culminating in a rare triple-booking for Yves Saint Laurent, Roberto Cavalli and Louis Vuitton campaigns. Style.com named her one of its top 10 models of the season.
"Beauty is one thing but to move in the spirit of elegance, whether on camera or on the runway is a blessed ideal in a model. Du Juan proves that elegance is indeed the ultimate sell in modelling, right this minute," was Models.com's view.
For France's Jalouse magazine, the autumn-winter collections were devoted to China's emergence on the world stage, and the "epicentre" of this phenomenon was Du Juan, with "her childlike smile and little baby face", the magazine commented in its July edition.
To Paris Match, she is the "Lady of Shanghai", an icon who embodies the magazine's formula for the model of 2006 to succeed: "Self-confidence, perseverance, cheek, seduction, fatal charm, plus good timing and of course, luck is hardly negligible."
Never underestimate the role fortune can play in deciding success, says Vogue's Cheung. "We had her on the Chinese cover - that launched her. We put her in touch with all the top photographers, the top stylists. She really stood out, so it's a combination of luck and talent."
Meanwhile back on earth, when Du Juan stands up to say hello she keeps going until she reaches her full extent at 180cm. Even in this hotel lobby, where the stars come out at all times of day, necks are craned.
"I originally wanted to be a ballerina, and I studied dance and traditional opera at the Shanghai Dance School as a little girl. I lived in a dormitory at dance school; I only came home once a week. But then I just kept getting taller. So my family and friends said 'why not be a model?'" she says. Du took their advice, strutting her way to win a national modelling contest in 2003 and winning Model of the Year at the 2004 China Fashion Awards.
Polite to a fault, Du Juan is a typical 20-year-old mainland woman, albeit one who spends considerably less time fiddling with her cellphone. This oh-so-typical Chinese girl was one of the faces on the inaugural issue of Chinese Vogue in September last year. She's featured in at least one major fashion editorial in every single issue since the magazine hit the news-stands.
"She also has this unique and innate quality that allows her to instinctively know how best to showcase the fashion or look that she is modelling. I think that is what makes a great model," says her manager, Melvin Chua.
"Chinese models have a grace to them that makes them stand out compared to Western models. Armani was so impressed with the quality of the Chinese models at a recent show in Shanghai he decided to fly over 10 models to Paris to model in his recent couture show," says Chua.
She loves to talk about how designers all have different personalities but are all totally focused on what they do.
"Karl Lagerfeld is a really cool guy, he takes photos of you in the different clothes and has a great sense of what looks good. All the designers have one thing in common - attention to detail," she says.
For Du, the highlights of her career so far have included winning Model of the Year, featuring on the cover of the first Chinese Vogue, then French Vogue in October 2005.
Most of her time these days is spent between New York and Paris but she tries to make it home every two months. When we meet she's back in China because her passport ran out of pages.
Couture means distilled fashion excellence, something Du Juan clearly relishes - she did 43 runways for her first international show season, autumn 2006. It's wonderful, but no picnic, she says. "There are very high requirements for the couture shows. You need to be skinny, you don't dare to gain a single pound during the fitting - if you don't fit into the clothes, you miss your chance," she says.
Like many Chinese people, food is something she really misses when abroad, especially her mother's soup ("the soup is too thick in Europe and the US"). "Compared to other models I guess I eat a lot. But I don't eat rice or noodles, and prefer vegetable dishes and fruit. As a dancer you use up a lot of calories, so I have to watch what I eat. Health is the most important thing," she says.
When she's not working she likes to sleep, spend time with her parents and eat with them. Her iPod Mini travels everywhere with her as does a popular Chinese novel, but she sees herself as a homebody. Her own favourite designers are Prada and Chloe, but when it comes to accessories, she loves to wear necklaces and crystals made by her mother.
Her parents, though traditional, are very supportive - her proud father even keeps tabs on Models.com. The fact that many of her friends are dancers means they are less jealous than they might have been.
As one of the first Chinese models to make it on the international ramps, Du Juan is a bit of a pioneer, and finds people in the West are very curious about Shanghai and Beijing in the West.
"A lot of people thought I was Japanese at first. When I told them I was from China they were very interested. The whole world wants to find out what China is like."