Chinese cousins in their 50s redesign, revitalise ethnic fabric, model, sell clothing globally
Pair faced criticism from family for their modelling videos, with one relative telling them to ‘act their age’
A pair of Chinese cousins in their 50s have redesigned ethnic brocade and promoted it by cross-dressing in women’s clothing made from the fabric, despite facing objections from their family.
Uncle Yang, 56, hails from Fujian province in southeastern China, while his older cousin, Uncle Song, is from Heilongjiang province in northeastern China. Although they grew up separately, they reunited for their shared passion for fashion in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.
Videos of them wearing women’s attire crafted by Yang from Zhuang Jin, an ethnic brocade unique to Guangxi and one of China’s “Four Famous Brocades”, went viral on social media.
Yang’s account has attracted hundreds of thousands of followers across various domestic and international platforms. In addition to numerous orders from China, they have also received requests from customers in Japan and the US.
However, their fashion career has faced significant challenges.