Here are 10 of our favourite examples of iconic costumes from the wardrobes of Asian cinema that played their part in securing their characters’ place in pop culture history.
1. Female Prisoner Scorpion series (1972-73)
Over a period of just 16 months, between August 1972 and December 1973, formidable Japanese beauty Meiko Kaji appeared in four Female Prisoner Scorpion films, as ruthless angel of vengeance Nami Matsushima, aka “Sasori” the Scorpion.
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During this time, she is repeatedly incarcerated and tortured, only to escape time and again to exact her bloody revenge on the men – mostly mobsters and corrupt cops – responsible for her suffering.
When not behind bars, Sasori is almost always seen clad in a long black coat and wide-brimmed hat, casting a silhouette as sharp and slender as the deadly blade she conceals beneath it.
2. Game of Death (1978)
Released five years after his untimely death, the film retools Lee’s incomplete performance into a hodgepodge action thriller, elevated by its climactic showdown with NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, featuring Lee clad in his most eye-catching golden get-up.
Images from the sequence had been circulating for years before the film finally saw daylight, shoring up the legendary status of “Lee’s final fight” long before it ever appeared on screens.
3. A Better Tomorrow (1986)
Whether lighting a cigarette with a burning US$100 bill, perpetually chewing on a toothpick, or blowing adversaries away while sporting a full-length trench coat, Chow’s look became the envy of every young man in the city.
Despite being wholly unsuitable for the climate, these heavy dusters became ubiquitous on the streets, even earning the nickname “Mark Gor Lau” in Cantonese, after Chow’s tragic hero.
4. Akira (1988)
Central to it all is Kaneda, the rebellious young biker who unwittingly becomes embroiled in a secret military experiment involving high-functioning mutant children.
5. A Moment of Romance (1990)
Wah Dee’s signature wardrobe of bleached blue denim, and especially his all-white K-Swiss trainers, became de rigueur garb for any young lad looking to make an impression with the ladies.
6. Chungking Express (1994)
With her chopped hair, eccentric behaviour and effervescent energy, she encapsulates the manic pixie dream girl that came to bewitch so many during the 1990s, not least as she dances around a stranger’s flat to the strains of The Mamas and the Papas, or her own infectious cover of The Cranberries’ “Dreams”.
7. In the Mood for Love (2000)
Set in 1960s Hong Kong, the film follows two married neighbours, who discover their spouses have been having an affair – a revelation that inevitably draws them closer together.
Cheung’s character, Su Li-zhen, is immaculately turned out throughout in a series of stunning cheongsams, designed by William Chang Suk-ping, which have helped immortalise the film as a pitch-perfect recreation of this specific moment in the city’s history.
8. Ring (1998)
As portrayed by actress Rie Ino, the lank-haired antagonist utterly eclipses the film’s more glamorous stars, who include Nanako Matsushima and Hiroyuki Sanada, thanks to her unnatural gait, insectlike crawl and paralysing stare.
Although Nakata’s film, which became a cult hit around the world, did not originate Sadako’s ghostly look, replete with long black hair and white nightdress, it succeeded in etching it forever into cinematic lore, fuelling nightmares for generations to come.
9. Ichi the Killer (2001)
Based on Hideo Yamamoto’s manga and directed by Takashi Miike, this extreme gangland thriller provided Tadanobu Asano with a role that might have given more traditional leading men pause for thought.
Sporting peroxide blond hair, numerous facial scars and piercings, as well as an array of outlandish Hawaiian shirts, he plays Kakihara, a masochistic yakuza hunting down his boss’ killer. When he crosses paths with a sadistic serial killer, rather than take revenge, the pain-loving thug goes in search of the ultimate kink.
Not for the faint of heart, Ichi the Killer pushes boundaries for its fashion choices as aggressively as its wince-inducing violence.
10. Oldboy (2003)
His insignificant salaryman Oh Dae-su is kidnapped and incarcerated for 15 years without explanation. When he is released just as suddenly, the man has transformed into a whirling dervish of anger and vengeance.
Sporting a shock of unkempt matted hair and a purloined pair of old lady’s sunglasses that brilliantly juxtapose his brand new suit, Dae-su carves a swathe through the Seoul underworld in search of answers – some he might very well not wish to know – and the whole world was there to see it.