Read on Twitter
King of Fighters XV has been announced! Here's some official art of Benimaru's new outfit. He's rocking a qipao (旗袍) aka "cheongsam" a traditional Manchu outfit that over time evolved into a tight fitting dress pioneered by upperclass Chinese socialite women in 1920s Shanghai https://twitter.com/SNKPofficial_jp/status/1334498623833452547
During the Ching Dynasty (the last Chinese Dynasty) the ruling Manchus forced the majority Han Chinese to adopt their clothing under penalty of death. This is the original Qipao (旗袍). It's a very baggy, full length dress that only leaves the heads, hands and toes exposed.
By the 1920s, fashionable pioneering women in Shanghai started to adopt the Qipao to suit more modern tastes. The skirt was cut higher, the sleeves shortened and overall it become more form fitting. This was cutting edge at the time!
This modified Qipao became known as the "long dress" (長衫 - Mandarin Chinese: chángshān, Shanghainese: zansae, Cantonese: chèuhngsàam) which is why it's referred to as a "cheongsam" in the English language.
The Qipao (旗袍) / Cheongsam (長衫) was perfected in the 1940s, when it evolved the tight fit, short sleeves and short cut with thigh high side slits that we know it by to this day.
The Qipao (旗袍) / Cheongsam (長衫) was popularlized in the West in the 60s by the film "The World of Suzie Wong" starring Nancy Quan as a beautiful young Chinese prostitute who falls in love with an old white dude because of course it's Hollywood lol
The Qipao has enjoyed steady popularity in the Sinosphere for over a century now and continues to evolve to suit contemporary tastes to this day, with Benimaru pushing it to shorter, tighter heights than ever before!
#KOFXV #KOF15 #Benimaru #旗袍
#KOFXV #KOF15 #Benimaru #旗袍
If you enjoyed this thread, check out my blog! Here's a writeup I did on King of Fighters XII and how it did a great job differentiating the characters by body type to a degree that wasn't present in earlier KOF games!
https://art-eater.com/articles/king-of-characters
https://art-eater.com/articles/king-of-characters
You might also enjoy this thread where I zoomed in on the sprites in KOFXIII and added AW YEAH SCANLINES BABY!!! https://twitter.com/Richmond_Lee/status/918729698800148485?s=20
Also please note, we did an @ArtEaterPodcast on the criminally underappreciated King of Fighters XIII! With special guests @Beefy_Kunoichi and @Thomasorus! Tune in to hear 4 grown men EFFUSE about the last great sprite based SNK fighter for several hours! https://twitter.com/ArtEaterPodcast/status/1287972299463786496?s=20