Celebrity photographer Chen Shing-I is an indelible feature of any fashion circle she cares to find herself in. Whether it’s as a photographer or a model, her name is synonymous with fashion. At a recent event for the Taiwanese designer brand Shiatzy, she stunned onlookers with her beguiling interpretation of a bright red men’s suit. Some onlookers called it charming, others said sexy, both were right. Shing-I envisions herself as a “a panoramic fashion photography artist” and her bold vision for Taiwanese fashion will shatter the current landscape, leaving it indelibly marked by her unique influence.
Her passion for fashion is such that during the interview, we couldn’t stop her from constantly switching between outfits. We tried to get her to answer questions, but instead she insisted on baring her fashion soul, flitting between intellectual, casual, and sexy styles, leaving the audience wanting more. Shing-I the photographer showed up in unexpected ways. She hunted for flowers in the flower market and opened up her treasure trove of fashion accessories to us. Gazing upon its splendor was like looking into a fashion boutique stuffed to bursting with shoes, jewelry and leather bags. But this is Chen Shing-I’s life, nothing can change that. The interview was broadcast on February 14th at 9pm on the Queen YouTube channel. (Link: https://youtu.be/YZvZFpWK9Ts)
Shing-I’s photography knows no bounds, striking like lightening in the music and media industry. She made the cover of Elva Hsiao’s album “Naked Truth” sexy and playful, and worked with the God Empress of Taiwanese dramas Wang Yujie. Her collaboration with Chick en Chicks, the best group at the New Generation Golden Melody Awards pushed them to new heights.
Her subjects never model, rather, like a treasure-hunter, Shing-I painstakingly works with them to find the unknown. As a female photographer, she is driven to photograph women, hoping that through her photography she can instill self-confidence among women, and tenderly reveal Shing-I’s message: A woman’s beauty is not only sex appeal, but also wisdom and sweetness. “Everyone thinks they know what looks good, until they work with me. People forget the power of simply observing and thinking. So I do just that, and present them with my unique aesthetic.” The fashion magnate Maggie Zhu Kaiwei, director of American luxury clothing brand 625PM, may be the next beneficiary of this process.
Shing-I is famous as the scion of an empire founded in the hotel and financial industry, or as a celebrity active in the fashion world. But there is more. Shing-I’s father loved photography and her mother was an avid fashionista. Both had a tremendous influence on her development. Like Bill Gates or Mozart, Shing-I parlayed an early start and a lifetime of experience into success. As a child, her father gave her a camera to explore the world with, whilst he filled hundreds of boxes with photos of Shing-I. Living in the US since she was a child, and with a talent for painting, she built on her childhood experience by graduating from the Parsons School of Design in New York, majoring in visual photography with a focus on photojournalism. With all this learning and experience, behind the camera Shing-I uses her skill to make more magic than all the wizards in Harry Potter put together, and in front of the camera, she radiates fashion. East and West collide and explode in Shing-I’s one-of-a-kind fashion photography.
Chen Shing-I believes that fashion is a boundless world of possibilities, with neither formula nor framework. She never sets limits on herself. Like a supernova sun, Shing-I exudes enthusiasm about the endless possibilities for the future. Her current plans include a photography exhibition, to educate the public on her fashion “vision”, but she is always on the lookout for other opportunities.
- Chen Shing-I’s Instagram：https://instagram.com/shingibaobei
