survey_44 — fashion beyond clothing
1. Chen Man — 陈漫 (Beijing, 1980)
Photographer and visual artist; one of the best-known figures in Chinese fashion photography, she works with photography, design, film and digital art; founder of the Beijing studio Studio 6.
Path — born on 3 June 1980 in Beijing; graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts (中央美术学院) in 2005 in graphic design; at 23 she began shooting covers for VISION magazine (《青年视觉》), which brought her her first recognition even before she finished her studies; she worked a great deal in tandem with the stylist and make-up artist Li Dongtian (李东田).
2. Leslie Zhang — 张家诚 (Yangzhou, 1992)
Photographer; one of the key authors of the new generation of Chinese fashion photography, he combines traditional Chinese aesthetics with a contemporary fashion language; founder of the creative studio Fuwafuwa.
- Path — born in 1992 in Yangzhou (Jiangsu province), grew up in Nanjing, lives in Shanghai; as a child he studied traditional Chinese painting; at university he studied editing, and came to photography from film.
- Method — he draws on personal childhood memories and traditional Chinese culture, “romanticising” them; saturated traditional colours, staged compositions and oriental motifs are characteristic.
- Publications — Another Man, Dazed, Love, Vogue (international editions), Elle, Harper's Bazaar, T Magazine, Wallpaper*.
- Recognition and projects — in 2017 he released his first independent photobook, “Les Lies”; in 2019 he was included in the BoF 500 and Dazed 100; in 2020 he founded the creative studio Fuwafuwa; he shot the BYREDO Young Rose campaign (2021) and was creative director of PARCO's seasonal shoot series (spring 2025).
3. Xu Chuang (Trunk Xu) — 许闯 (Shandong, 1983)
Photographer, founder of the Beijing studio Trunk Studio; one of China's leading commercial and fashion photographers.
- Path — born on 18 February 1983 in Shandong province; studied in the UK from 2000 to 2007, graduating from Nottingham Trent University in multimedia production; interned with the documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield; from 2003 he shot British reportage for VISION magazine (《青年视觉》).
- Start in fashion — in 2007 he returned to China and founded his own studio in Beijing (Trunk Studio); he entered fashion photography through collaboration with the designer Zhou Xiangyu (周翔宇, Xander Zhou).
- Recognition — in 2009 he received the “Photographer of the Year” award of 《Surface表面》 magazine; in 2013 the “时尚盛典创行之星” award from 《精品购物指南》; in 2012 he shot the cover and a series of photographs for Shang Wenjie's album “Ode to the Doom”; in 2016 he shot the video 《无花果》 for Li Yuchun.
- Publications — Vogue China, ELLE, Harper's Bazaar Men (《时尚芭莎男士》) and others; his work includes the group portrait “中女坐庄” for Vogue China (2024) and covers for Vogue China.
4. Sun Jun — 孙郡 (Shaoxing, 1978)
Photographer and artist; creator of the “新文人画摄影” direction (“new literati painting photography”), which combines photography with the technique of Chinese painting; known as the “photographer-poet”.
- Path — born in 1978 in Shaoxing (Zhejiang province); from the age of seven he studied Chinese painting (gongbi); he graduated from the China Academy of Art (中国美术学院) in visual communication; after graduating he worked as a graphic designer at a Shanghai advertising agency, then moved into photography.
- Method — he shoots staged frames, converts them into a black-and-white image and then hand-colours them in the gongbi manner, layer by layer; a single work takes on average about 20 days.
- Works — 《茶经》, 《和中国有关的梦》, 《明月清风》, 《百花录》; the series “东方美学复兴” for anniversary issues of 《时尚芭莎》; the series “百花” (a hundred Chinese flowers and a hundred figures); the series 《拂尘集》 about the Forbidden City (81 works, made over nine years).
- Exhibitions — the solo exhibition 《拂尘集》 (Dusting the Pass) at the 頌艺术中心 centre (Soul Art, Beijing), 27 September — 26 October 2025, timed to the centenary of the Gugong museum.
5. Yin Chao — 尹超 (born in the 1980s)
Photographer, founder of the Beijing studio SUPER STUDIO, Hasselblad ambassador (2017); one of the most sought-after Chinese fashion photographers.
- Path — a member of the 1980s generation; he began as an assistant at the Beijing studio “东方明珠”, where he worked with light and learned from well-known fashion photographers; in 2008 he founded the Beijing studio SUPER STUDIO (some sources say 2009), combining production, photography, video and exhibition activity.
- Style and themes — he combines commercial fashion shooting with an interest in Chinese tradition and “chan”; he works a great deal in the portrait genre; according to media reports, he seeks to convey a person's inner world.
- Recognition — in 2017 Hasselblad CEO Paul Bram granted him the status of Hasselblad ambassador (哈苏大使); he works with 《VOGUE》, 《ILOOK》, 《VISION》, 《Marie Claire》, 《GQ》, 《Men's Uno》, 《ELLE》, 《Cosmopolitan》, 《Harper's Bazaar》 and others.
- Projects — in 2025 his solo exhibition 《化身》 was held in Lhasa (the 吉本岗艺术中心 centre) — the result of ten years of shooting in Tibet; his work also includes the series 《面孔》 about Xinjiang.
