She is literally the face of a limited-edition capsule for his menswear line

It is hard to fault Fan Bingbing (范冰冰) for not being a versatile individual. The tourism ambassador for Malacca has gone from wearing the nyonya kebaya as promoter of the old Portuguese settlement to appearing on the clothes of Yohji Yamamoto’s Pour Homme line as a seductress to the designer’s male customers. To be launched at a pop-up in the men’s annexe of Isetan Department Store in, Shinjuku, Tokyo, two weeks from now, the nine-piece capsule features the face of Ms Fan—whom Malaysian director initially thought “too pretty” to cast in his film Mother Bhumi—in various guises and poses, painted by the Japanese artist Uchida Suzume. The images are printed on calf skin jackets, cotton shirts, and a leather tote, all of which are surprising not because of the subject featured, but because they are not entirely in black. One jacket is in crimson, while shirts sport bodices in dusky pink and petrol blue.

Ms Fan is not unacquainted with Mr Yamamoto’s work or the man himself as she had attended his shows in Paris. Her collaboration is, therefore, not unexpected. Many designers (and tourism heads) desire to work with her as everything she touches seemingly turns to gold. But for a brand that is associated with manga, such as Shotaro Ishinomori’s Cyborg 009 for the current season, the choice of Ms Fan is a tad out of sync. It is her first sitting for Uchida Suzume and the results show a somewhat sultry side of her, with one image depicting her biting a stalk of rose, a la Carmen. The pairing of the actress and the artist would likely be more at home at Maria Grazia Chiuri’s Dior than at a Japanese house known for its avant-garde androgyny.

Yohji Yamamoto X Fan Bingbing X Uchida Suzume will be available at Isetan Shinjuku, Men’s Building from 13 to 19 November. Photos: Yohji Yamamoto