Song Huai-Kuei 宋怀桂 (7 December 1937 – 21 March 2006), also known as Madame Song, was a Chinese artist, actor, fashion icon, socialite, and businesswoman.[1] She is seen as having been instrumental in introducing China to an international fashion and lifestyle scene at a time when it was largely isolated from the rest of the world.[2]
Song was married to Bulgarian tapestry artist Marin Varbanov (1932-1989) and worked as fashion designer Pierre Cardin's agent in Beijing during the 1980s.
Life and career
editSong studied at the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) in Beijing.[3] This is also where she met Varbanov, who was part of a group of exchange students, in 1954. They married in December 1956 - the first mixed marriage in the People's Republic of China.[4] Song and Varbanov moved to Sofia, Bulgaria in 1959, where they worked as artists.
Song met Italian-French fashion designer Pierre Cardin in 1979 in Paris, and started working for him to launch his brand in Beijing. In 1980, she moved back to Beijing and worked full-time for Cardin.[3] She helped to open the restaurant Maxim's de Paris in Beijing and served as its manager for two decades.[5]
In 1987, Song played the mother of Pu Yi in The Last Emperor.[6]
References
edit- ^ Li, Pi. "Madame Song: A Life in Art and Fashion (synopsis)". Foyles. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
- ^ "Madame Song: Pioneering Art and Fashion in China | M+". www.mplus.org.hk. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
- ^ a b "Madame Song: A Chinese Love Story". Asian Art Newspaper. 2021-05-26. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
- ^ "Points of Encounter: A Timeline | Arthub". arthubasia.org. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
- ^ a b "M+ presents new Special Exhibition Madame Song: Pioneering Art and Fashion in China | M+". www.mplus.org.hk. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
- ^ The Last Emperor (1987) - IMDb, retrieved 2023-07-01
- ^ Group, P. M. B. "Phénix Varbanov: Oceanus procellarum". bsf.spp.asso.fr. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
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