The A-list actor didn’t mince words when explaining why his son won’t inherit a dime of his fortune
From confiding to American talk show Ellen DeGeneres that he washes his underwear in the shower because hotel laundry is too expensive to bringing stuffed pandas in Ugg-boots to the Oscars (picture above), Jackie Chan can even make us laugh with his clothes. But there is a serious and philosophical side to the actor, too. And while he has worn all sorts of outfits over the years, lately more of his clothes have details of traditional Chinese tailoring, be it tangzhuang for special occasions, or more casual items. This comes at a time when the actor is more vocal about how China is changing and his role in it. So, how does what Jackie Chan wears, linked to what being Chinese means for him?
This summer, Forbes magazine announced that Chan is China’s top movie star and the fifth highest earning actor in the world. The South China Morning Post added that he is also the highest paid Asian actor, posting a smiling photo of the 64-year-old in a floral print Chinese-style jacket. The jacket is a sort of modernised tangzhuang, where traditional cut is merged with an unconventional fabric and pattern. It exemplifies how traditional Chinese fashion is changing.
Traditionally tangzhuang, and the changshan gown he wore to the 2017 and 2016 Academy Awards, are tailor-made to fit the body of the wearer. But whether made to order or bought off the rack, many designers in China are blending cultural styles now. This goes for casual as well as special occasion clothes. The result is a new, fresh Chinese fashion style. Even the government has got involved. President Xi Jingping has set the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology to developing what they have called xinzhongzhuang (new Chinese clothes/attire) in time for Made in China 2025. The technical director for the project is 72-year-old Tse Chi-kwong, who used to make clothes for Jackie Chan.
Being Chinese has always been very present in the actor’s movies and when he gives interviews. This is not only in the martial arts, but also in the themes and his comments. It is a matter of sharing his identity. From period dramas set in China (including Hong Kong) like Drunken Master to contemporary films like the Police Story film series, to stories that cross time and space like The Myth with Indian actor Malika Sherawat, Chan portrays glimpses of Chinese culture to the world. At the Shanghai Film Festival in June, he said, “When I film now, it’s not about what’s just fun or amusing…I think about if the film can bring Chinese culture, or my own culture and reflections, to the outside world.”
In fact, Chan has taken this idea beyond his films. Appointed a political advisor to the Chinese government, some of his opinions regarding how China is changing have mixed reviews. He worries that too much freedom could have dangerous social consequences for the nation, for example.
Less controversially, he is promoting Chinese aesthetics. In July of this year, he moved the International Jackie Chan Action Movie Week (part of the Shanghai Film Festival since 2015) from Shanghai to Datang, a northern Chinese city with impressive architectural heritage. The festival pays tribute to stunt actors in Chinese as well as foreign films like Aamir Khan’s Dangal, and the setting showed the global press another side of China. There is also, of course, the matter of how Jackie Chan presents himself to the public.Without talking about the importance of dress in cultural identity, Chan just wears it. He still wears tracksuits for training, and jeans, and long-sleeved shirts, and bomber jackets, but the xinzhongzhuang is present in the detail. Often it is just a rounded or raised collar on what would otherwise be a western shirt, or hidden buttons down the front of a man’s closed blazer, but the visual image speaks for itself. His clothing silently shows that he is part of the changing China, the China that is looking out as well as in.