welcome to the faye wong school of 90s fall fashion
armwarmers, weird layered knits, and sunburn blush.
The first time I listened to Faye Wong’s cover of “Dreams” by The Cranberries, I think my soul floated out of my body.
I love 90s dreampop in general (Cranberries, Cocteau Twins), but to hear the ethereal warbles in Cantonese unlocked a next level of sonic euphoria. That song in Chungking Express was my introduction to Faye Wong.
She’s always had a cult following among the international indie bitch community. But her popularity has surged among Western audiences in the past few years, fueled by 90s nostalgia and rising interest in vintage Hong Kong aesthetics. Sandy Liang played one of her songs as the FW25 show opener (an Easter Egg move which was criminally under-discussed in show reviews!!!). And my favorite academic Substack princesses
and included Faye Wong on their lists of predicted “ins” for 2025.
Faye was an it girl in every way you could possibly be an it girl.
For cinephiles, she’s the OG Wong Kar Wai arthouse muse…manic pixie dream girl in a postcolonial Hong Kong font. She was exceptionally skilled at playing the quirky working girl protagonist in a big lonely city—doe-eyed and lost in reverie.
Oh, to be a noodle stall girl commuting home after work…the melancholia!
But she already had a successful career as a singer, long before her acting debut. Known as the “Queen of Cantopop,” she was *the* reigning pop diva back in my parents’ day. I think they find it amusing that us second gen kids have claimed her music as hard as we do. (See also: Teresa Teng’s “Moon Represents My Heart”).
Given this context, I believe Faye would be revered as a style icon regardless of what she wore, simply because she defined the 90s Hong Kong zeitgeist. As blogger and architectural designer JJ Acuna explained:
“Hong Kong had it so good in the 90s when it was the Faye Wong and Vivienne Tam era. A lot of reactionary fashion happened at that time, when people were exploring what Hong Kong fashion really meant […going from] from a British-ruled colony to being part of China.”1
With the help of stylist Titi Kwan, Faye developed a reputation as an avant-garde trendsetter. Kwan was a devoted stylist, known to go “above and beyond when she ask[ed] for clothes,” often traveling to France to source rare vintage just for her.2
Her presentation was described as rebellious and independent, unconcerned with the opinions of the public. She wore Martin Margiela, Yohji Yamamoto and Vivienne Westwood long before they became buzzy designers.
Faye has been an enduring fashion reference for me.
From slip dresses to sunburn blush, here are all the ways I’ve tried dressing like the one and only “天后” (heavenly queen).
Oval Sunglasses
Dear rachel brown bot, I also imprinted hard on these sunglasses. This movie compelled me to make it one of my signature frame shapes. And yeah, I do have a pair that comes pretty darn close.
