What happened W Magazine China’s latest issue, titled “The Great Performance Issue,” featuring high-profile models Chen Zhuo, Pan Yan, and Anji, has sparked controversy among Chinese netizens, particularly on Xiaohongshu, where the edition’s depiction of workers has sharply divided opinion. The issue was intended to honor laborers, showcasing their role as the “bedrock of the world” through fashion editorials. The imagery and styling merged worker archetypes — miners, farmers, and construction workers — with high-fashion aesthetics, intending to highlight the links between labor, nature, and modernity. However, the approach drew both praise and sharp criticism from netizens. The Jing Take Some users praised the magazine’s effort to elevate the visibility of workers, a group often overlooked in mainstream media. Fashion blogger CiFangCF_Fashion (@次方CF_Fashion) noted on Weibo how the casting, particularly model Chen Zhuo, whose look is seen as appropriate, brought a sense of authenticity, with netizens applauding the representation of ordinary people in high-fashion. However, many were quick to call out the issue for what they perceived as a shallow and aestheticized portrayal of workers. The casting of models with stereotypical laborer characteristics — weathered faces and rugged physiques — was seen by some as a reductionist approach, turning laborers into aesthetic props rather than truly capturing their experiences. Xiaohongshu user @XXXlaurent wrote, “Laborers’ hardships in China are often trivialized and abstracted into elements for cultural consumption — it feels detached and disingenuous.” The discussion extended to whether the editorial really respected its subjects. Fashion blogger @BiscuitofFashion shared on Xiaohongshu that workers featured in similar campaigns might not resonate with, or even understand the final result, citing their words. “They [editorial team] can shoot however they want; it has nothing to do with us,” the blogger posted. This disconnect between the edition’s creators and their subjects led some to question the purpose of this type of campaign — whether it is to genuinely honor workers, or merely use, if not romanticize, their image for viral marketing. The issue has sparked a necessary conversation about the ethics of representation in fashion media, particularly in a rapidly modernizing society. The Jing Take reports on a piece of the leading news and presents our editorial team’s analysis of the key implications for the luxury industry. In the recurring column, we analyze everything from product drops and mergers to heated debate sprouting on Chinese social media.
