You’re about to see a lot more of Taiwanese-Canadian actor Godfrey Gao in the coming months, as the Vancouver native is the first Asian male to be tapped as the spokesmodel for Louis Vuitton. To everyone unfamiliar with Gao, he is a successful TV actor in Taiwan, having starred in popular dramas like Volleyball Lover and the awesomely titled I Want to Become a Hard Persimmon.
It’s appropriate that Gao was chosen to front the label’s spring campaign, given reports that Chinese men spent more on luxury goods than their female counterparts last year. Moreover, parent company LVMH posted a 26 percent profit gain over the first nine months of 2010, compared with the same period the year before, largely owing to Vuitton’s growth. With Estée Lauder signing a contract with Liu Wen and Vogue proclaiming that Asian models are “Redefining Traditional Concepts of Beauty,” what’s next? Will we see other brands follow Vuitton’s suit? Or perhaps a major Western magazine will put someone like Fei Fei Sun on its cover? Asian models have come far, but there’s still a ways to go. [WSJ]
