ZHOU ZING CHANNELS FRONT ROW SECRET

For its glitzy Roman Métiers d’Art show, Chanel filled the Cinecittà studios in Rome with an international assortment of celebrities. American beauties Kristen Stewart and Rooney Mara were there, as were Italian starlets Margareth Madè and Anita Caprioli. The standout attendee in the front row, though, may have been Chinese actress Zhou Xun. Arriving in a flurry of white ruffled lace straight off the brand’s couture runway, Xun quickly captured the attention of photographers as she stopped to pose for a selfie on the opulent Roman sculpture–strewn set.

While she isn’t a household name in the States yet, Xun has been a fixture on the film and music scenes in her native China since the mid-’90s. As one of China’s most visible stars, and the only actress to have won all three of the country’s top acting awards, she is more than your average ingenue. Appearing onscreen since her teens, she first garnered international attention with her critically acclaimed role in Suzhou River, an artsy romance where she plays dual male and female roles. Since then, she’s gone on to break box office records with her movies, becoming the most commercially successful Chinese actress of all time. Favoring idiosyncratic characters with complex backstories, she’s built a varied and compelling résumé, playing the kinds of offbeat characters audiences love.

Clearly Xun is as selective with her wardrobe as she is with her film choices: Her personal style relies on elegant pieces from Balenciaga, Lanvin, and, of course, Chanel (she was handpicked by Karl Lagerfeld to be a brand ambassadress back in 2011). She is consistently glamorous, the kind of woman to top off casual jeans and sneakers with a bouclé jacket. Xun has taken more fashion risks since she chopped of her hair though, even swapping out her soignée couture for more risqué Balmaindresses. And given her recent turn in the fashion spotlight, who knows what new and transformative looks she’ll try next.

Source: Vogue