Deleting the ‘K’ in Monkey
Print Edition
THE Chinese Lunar New Year is celebrated not only in China but also by people around the world.
Public schools in New York City had a holiday on February 8 to celebrate the New Year. A day later, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra hosted its fifth annual Chinese New Year Concert and Gala in a salute to the Year of the Monkey.
In the realm of sports, the Sacramento Kings basketball team planned to give away T-shirts bearing a monkey emblem to fans but was forced to withdraw the commemorative freebies after complaints that the monkey is a racially insensitive figure during Black History Month in the US.
Slurs aside, monkeys are not considered beautiful creatures, like peacocks or birds of paradise, but they are considered “cute.” A YouTube video of a baby monkey named Nala, getting a bath in a sanctuary, drew more than 10 million clicks.
US zoologist Konrad Lorenz once said that “humans feel affection for animals with juvenile features: large eyes, bulging craniums, retreating chins. Small-eyed, long-snouted animals do not elicit the same response.”
People born in the Year of the Monkey were shopping for traditional red items to wear, but that isn’t the only consumer temptation on the market. The global retail sector is flush with top brand footwear, cosmetics, jewelry and watches commemorating the Year of the Monkey.
The burst of commercialism has stirring some heated discussions on Weibo and WeChat about the validity and taste of Western interpretations of Chinese elements.
Here’s a quick look at some of the Chinese zodiac and Lunar New Year inspired designs in 2016.
Nike
NIKE released special editions of the Air Force 1 shoe to pay tribute to the Chinese New Year. The customizable sneakers can have Chinese characters like numbers, zodiac signs, 发 (fa, make a fortune) and upside down 福 (fu, blessing and good fortune) engraved on the backs of the shoes, all in traditional writing. Customers can choose color, material and design for their sneakers on Nike’s online store. The shoes are available from 899 yuan (US$142.7).
Chinese netizens commenting on the product described the shoes as “corny” and “nouveau riche.”
Adidas
Adidas created three sneakers in its Tubular collection that feature red upper and white outer soles, with a simple monkey face sketch on the back.
Vans
Vans released its Monkey Rules collection, featuring three designs that were inspired by three editions of monkey stamps from the years 1980, 1992 and 2004. This is one of the smarter designs. The sneakers cost 765 yuan and have already sold out online.
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton released three sets of monkey-inspired jewelry for the Chinese Lunar New Year – a pendant necklace (6,750 yuan), a bracelet (5,150 yuan) and a crew necklace (15,200 yuan), all featuring the same monkey head decorated by crystals.
How do Chinese people feel about this design? Most people chose the word “alien-like” to describe the monkey with disproportionate eyes and ears.
Carrera y Carrera
Carrera y Carrera released monkey rings priced at US$6,200, each featuring a slightly scary-looking gold skull filled with colorful gems.
Limited edition luxury timepieces are among the most lavish gifts and collectibles.
Giorgio Armani
Giorgio Armani’s Chinese New Year products include a red-cased compact (780 yuan) with 福 engraved on top and a monkey pattern on the pressed powder inside.
Though some netizens described the product as “ugly,” it sold out quickly in stores and online.
Prada
Prada launched a Chinese Lunar New Year collection called The Monkey Chatters, featuring bags and shoes in the festive red color as well as monkey-inspired charms. In the collection, there are several key rings and bag charms featuring a monkey holding a peach with both hands, and one with a monkey with a furry white back.
One pair of charms doesn’t quite ring true. Named Cornelia and Cesare, these two monkeys look more like chimpanzees. They are priced at US$330 each in the US.
Ulysse Nardin
Ulysse Nardin’s Year of the Monkey Classico features a playful monkey leaping through palm fronds in contrasting colors of gold and black.
Piaget
Piaget created the Year of the Monkey watch in the brand’s Art & Excellence collection, which features a limited edition of 38 watches with cloisonne enamel dials. This year, the gray-toned, realistic caricature of a monkey holding a peach was criticized by Chinese fashion bloggers as being “too devilish.”
Jaquet Droz
Jaquet Droz created two models inspired by the Monkey King, featuring realistically depicted monkeys on the dial.
Harry Winston
By comparison, Harry Winston’s lady’s timepiece, with a 18k gold monkey and a diamond for an eye on a pink dial, seems more festive. It’s available in a limited edition of eight pieces.
Chopard
Chopard released its LU CXP Urushi Year of the Monkey watch featuring a dial made by a Japanese master lacquer artist that shows a monkey perched on a branch picking a peach.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
