Four foreign fashion designers have been denied entry to Beijing’s Forbidden City for wearing “dark and strange” clothes. The four – Rick Owens and Michele Lamy, as well as Hannah Rose Dalton and Steven Raj Bhaskaran, the co-founders of the brand Fecal Matter – were criticised in official media for showing no respect for China’s history and culture. The group, some of whom were wearing heavy make-up, posed for photographs at the entrance to the Imperial Palace on Tuesday before being told to change clothes or leave.
Fecal Matter published an Instagram story saying security told them to “remove our make-up and change into normal clothes and then we could get in”, but they had refused to do so. They described the incident as “humiliating and dehumanising” but added: “We understand and accept we don’t have access to the whole world. It’s the price we pay for being ourselves without compromising our values.
“What we take away from this experience is more determination to keep doing what we do to fight for more acceptance and tolerance for difference around the world. Provoking and pushing the boundaries to fight against those who try to box people in and remove the freedom of expression.” The Forbidden City has yet to make an official announcement on the issue.
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