Madame Song: A Life In Art And Fashion

The remarkable life of Song Huai-Kuei, or Madame Song, mirrors the trajectory of 20th-century history. A multifaceted figure, she was an artist, entrepreneur, and tastemaker who challenged cultural norms for love, transcended Cold War boundaries for her art, and pioneered the global fashion industry. With her cosmopolitan perspective, she shaped a vision for Chinese culture on the world stage and championed an Asian viewpoint in 21st-century art and design. This volume offers a critical biography exploring Song's upbringing in revolutionary China, her intercultural marriage to Bulgarian artist Maryn Varbanov, her success within avant-garde circles in Eastern and Western Europe during the Cold War, and her efforts to revive traditional aesthetics in China alongside the global couture boom. Throughout her life, she cultivated an aspirational image of a modern Chinese woman in a changing world. A master networker, Song connected people, disciplines, and business interests, often in the refined settings of Maxim's de Paris and Beijing. By chronicling her life's peaks and valleys, Madame Song provides a captivating lens through which to examine 20th-century China.