Where are they now? The Hong Kong Book Fair ‘pseudo models’ 10 years on
Scantily clad young women promoting their photo albums were once a fixture at the Hong Kong Book Fair. Deemed untouchable by big brands then, some have gone on to bigger and better things
Pretty young women flaunting their flesh in skimpy outfits were once a fixture of the annual Hong Kong Book Fair, which opens today, promoting glossy photo books of themselves posing semi-naked.
They first surfaced 10 years ago, and the annual phenomenon lasted until the Book Fair’s organiser, the Trade Development Council (TDC), banned sales of such books in 2010 (although promotion of them continued for a couple more years at the book fair, albeit less conspicuously). While many young men slobbered over them, serious bibliophiles found the presence of the models and their books at the fair distasteful. They were branded “pseudo models” for their indecorous style, and became untouchable in the eyes of upmarket brands.
A lucky few, such as Chrissie Chau Sau-na and Angela Yeung Wing (better known as Angelababy), who became actresses, managed to move on to better things. Many others enjoyed only fleeting media attention before fading into oblivion, and have found it difficult to shake off the curse of the pseudo-model tag.
Colour Keung Tsz-lam, 32, discovered how damaging the pseudo-model tag can be. Before she produced her 2008 book of flirtatious photos taken in Taiwan, she had promoted video games and hosted entertainment shows, since being signed up by a modelling agency at age 16. Four years ago, the vocational school design graduate decided to enrol in a Chinese writing course at Chinese University.