The Ivanka Trump makeover phenomenon hits China
Want this face? It will cost you. Photo: Getty
Ivanka Trump might be struggling to sell clothing in the United States, but in China her face and name are hot property.
The First Daughter’s face is regarded as the ultimate in feminine beauty for Chinese women who are rushing to their cosmetic surgeons in the hope of getting the full Ivanka makeover.
The Foshan Yiwanka Medical Management company in the city of Foshan offers breast, nose and eye augmentation and liposuction inspired by President Donald Trump’s eldest daughter.
The company registered its name, which features the Chinese translation of Ivanka, ‘Yiwanka’, before the US election.
“Young women here want Ivanka’s big eyes, her pretty nose and lips and her flawless figure,” Li Yunxing, human resources manager at Foshan Yiwanka Medical Management, told The Washington Post.
“Her facial features, disposition and appearance are perfect, no matter whether they are judged by the beauty standards of the East or the West.”
The ‘Ivanka effect’ is also a Western phenomenon.
In November 2016 American current affairs program Nightline profiled two women who had spent tens of thousands of dollars in an effort to look like the 35-year-old former model.
“I like Ivanka Trump’s classic features and that’s what I’m modelling the look after,” Texan woman Tiffany Taylor told the program of her $US60,000 makeover.
Still, Ivanka’s influence in China is huge and extends well beyond the plastic surgery industry.
According to the Post, 258 trademark applications were lodged in China under variations of Ivanka’s name between the election and the end of 2016, for products such as face creams, sanitary pads and diet pills.
Despite her father’s criticisms of China, Ivanka has made her interest in – and respect for – the country well known.
Her daughter Arabella, five, is learning Mandarin and Ivanka has shared several videos of her singing or reciting poems in the language on her Instagram account.
The most recent video of Arabella singing a Chinese song for Lunar New Year attracted plenty of comments from Chinese fans, who applauded Arabella for her perfect pronunciation.
“Her Chinese is better than me and I am half Chinese,” one Instagram user commented.
Last month, Ivanka and Arabella attended a Lunar New Year celebration at Beijing’s embassy in Washington and the hashtag #Trump’sDaughterVisitsChina’sEmbassy began trending on Chinese social media site Weibo.
Of course, Ivanka’s clothing line also imports a substantial amount of its products from manufacturers in China, for which she has been heavily criticised given her father’s emphasis on “buying American”.
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