Women of Folklore: Mulan

In my original plan for this series, every tale came from a different country.  In the revamp, my stories became less diverse.  This is why I sought out to do Mulan (which was not in my first revamp plan).  I wanted to show the growth of feminism around the world, and how other countries reacted towards the growth in power of women.

Model: Anna Nguyen

Costume: Rebecca Jones

Taking her father's place in the war against the Huns, Mulan returned

home to question her identity in her traditional Chinese culture.

Hua Mulan

I chose to mimic this traditional style image of Mulan for my own series.  In the poem, it discusses how she puts the powder on her face to return to her position as a woman.  She holds the sword in one hand and the powder in the other as sign of the pull she feels between the freedom of being a man and the tradition of being a woman.  Described as two hares, the steps of the male rabbit sharp and sure, and the steps of the female hare twisted and muddled. 

Modern Hanfu

I was lucky enough to have a friend lend me a Japanese Kimono and sword. Even though the dress was technically not from the right country, I knew I was super lucky to have such an amazing dress.  I attempted to style it in a way that mimicked a modern Hanfu by draping the gown straight down instead of crossing it at the middle as is done with Kimonos.  

I want thank Anna and Rebecca for helping me do this shoot.  I would not have been able to pull off such an amazing photo without your help!