We were lucky to catch up with Qijue Chen recently and have shared our conversation below.

Qijue, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

When people ask me what kind of photography I do, I usually say that I shoot editorials and portraits. However, most people don’t know that I identify myself as a vintage photographer who incorporates authentic vintage elements into photography. Photography has always been my way of communicating and expressing myself, ever since I was handed my dad’s old film camera. The eight-year-old me didn’t have the slightest idea of what photography was, and even less of starting a business as a photographer. I just knew that people finally started to understand my world through my photos. And through my photos, I could tell my stories.
I have been photographing for 18 years now, each year passing in the blink of an eye. During my adolescence and early adulthood, I lived in different cities and countries. As I moved around, I knew that not only do I want to tell my own story, but also to share the stories and lives people share with me.
One story dear to my heart is the story of Chinese females, a community that is often seen as quiet, obedient, and boring, through vintage. I was exposed to Chinese vintage fashion and Chinese traditional clothing called “Qipao,” which was invented by Chinese women who started to pursue a fashion that liberated them after the Qing dynasty. Many Chinese women before the 1940s only wore Qipaos throughout their lives. It’s a form of dress tailor made to each woman and therefore documents their owners’ aesthetic and life stories. By learning more about Chinese vintage fashion and through my experiences collecting Qipaos, I began to see Chinese women through the Qipaos they once wore. The changes women experience growing up, starting a family, becoming a mother; the challenges of Chinese women when they were forced to leave their country and travel far due to wars; the unique beauty and strength they present throughout their lives. It’s beyond imagination that a dress can tell such profound stories.
However, Qipao designing and tailoring requires remarkably advanced skills, many of which are extinct now. Thus, in order to tell those stories, I established Manli Vintage in 2019. It is a studio that combines vintage and photography, promoting Chinese vintage fashion and womanhood. Our mission is to cultivate knowledge and appreciation of vintage Qipao and Chinese women while inspiring others to do the same through high quality visuals and photographs of these timeless dresses.

Qijue, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I got into the vintage and photography business to promote Chinese vintage fashion and womanhood. The mission of my business is to cultivate knowledge and appreciation of vintage Qipao and Chinese women while inspiring others to do the same through high quality visuals and photographs of these timeless dresses. As an individual, young Chinese female living in the US, vintage and photography is also a form of self-expression, my way of getting in touch with my roots. Our studio works with collectors and buyers all around the world in all kinds of industries. Some of our clientele are world famous artists and entrepreneurs who love Chinese vintage fashion. Others just want to buy beautiful dresses. My photography work has been accepted by various fashion magazines such as Vogue Italia, SELIN, MOB, and MALVE. Clients reach out to me to photograph them in order to fulfill their vintage dreams.
One of my customers, a British photographer and stylist, said that Manli Vintage is the first studio that specializes in Chinese Qipao culture and womanhood and portrays it with the reverence it deserves. For years, Qipaos that are poorly designed and sexualized have become the image of Chinese fashion. People, including Chinese, don’t know how advanced and exquisite such fashion creation is anymore. It’s common nowadays to chase superficial hype rather than to try to understand cultures. Manli Vintage exists so people have the channel to see the beauty of vintage Chinese fashion and learn the techniques Chinese women refined over the years. This requires a high level of understanding of Qipao culture as well as the ability to communicate and advertise in both Chinese and English as we have a broad audience. Such information takes time and effort to compile, learn, and translate to something that more people can understand and enjoy. I’m also dedicated to encouraging people to bring new life into old vintage by doing creative photography projects using vintage Qipao to show that the beauty of vintage doesn’t need to be limited to its traditional appearance.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I think what helps me most to build my reputation is my expertise and knowledge in vintage and photography. My clients can count on me to tell them about the special features from each piece and how they can fit into their needs and desires. Moreover, I combine photography with vintage Qipao, which enables more people to enjoy the beauty of it and thereby promoting its culture. I see a lot of misinformation in the vintage community which can potentially trick clients into buying pieces that are unauthentic or misrepresented. I build trust amongst my clientele by constantly enriching my business, academically and practically, by reading, discussing with professors in Chinese fashion history, and collecting. Although (and because) I have years of experience in the field, I understand that there is an unending amount to learn.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

My motivation to be an artist is multifold. At the surface level, photography is fun and rewarding, being able to show others the romance and wonders I see about this world. Digging a bit deeper, I recognize that I have a platform. Many people in my life didn’t have a clue about Qipao and its rich history until they saw my photography. Frequently, they would proclaim something along the lines of “Wow this dress looks like nothing I’ve ever seen before, where can I buy one?” This is my inspiration, to provide that spark in interest in vintage Qipao and inspire others to do the same.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makunawu/

Image Credits
Lily Shen, Maggie Zhou, Laura