These days, many have heard of the so-called “Socialite Training Class” that train women to attract wealthy husbands, some of whom are rumored to include women who married top stars in Chinese showbiz. As it turns out, TVB already had their satirical spin on the gossip. In an old clip from Hong Kong sitcom Come Home Love: Lo and Behold, there were scenes that poke fun at these mysterious high-society courses. Think of it as charm school or finishing school except it’s hyper focused on teaching wanna-be socialites about things like choosing the “correct” outfits, the right luxury brands to wear and even down to the right way to pose for pictures.
TVB’s Satirical Spin on Socialite Training
Details about the training program and the many influencers and celebrity wives it has produced have long intrigued many. Netizens even claim it’s easy to point out their “graduates” since they often look and project similar images. A few years ago, the network filmed the entire training process headed up by a wealthy Shanghai woman named Amy. Well, it looks like “big sister” Amy was the inspiration behind network’s most recent show which featured a woman named Amy mentoring everyone how things should be done from the right “it bags” to have, the right way of putting on makeup and the correct way to pose. Even how to act whilst taking a high-end afternoon tea was also tackled to ensure the ladies project a classy and affluent image.
Influencers and Celebrity Wives
The TVB sitcom features a training class led up by Amy who boasts that a student of hers married a Heavenly King. She also guaranteed the ladies that they can snag a rich husband in three months through her class. When one asked why their long hair and makeup are all the same instead of showing their strengths, Amy answered, “Have you seen those who married, majority are influencers, their uniqueness is that you can’t really say what’s unique about them. Big eyes, pointed face, small mouth.”
Remember when Huang Xiaoming recently announced his relationship with social media star Ye Ke last month? All the media attention towards the actor and his new girlfriend also meant she’s suddenly on the radar of rumourmongers who alleged Ye Ke who is an influencer, was a graduate of the socialite training program. Same goes for Cantopop king Aaron Kwok’s wife Moka Fang Yuan who was also rumoured to have training from none other than Amy. It looks like the satire didn’t even bother changing Amy’s name. TVB’s take has Amy telling the ladies to gather around and take artsy photos, except there’s only one “Channel” bag and they have to take turns.
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Anon
No different from the European “finishing schools” which girls from upper classes of society attend after their secondary school. They teach the girls how to be a socialite.
In ancient China up till the last dynasty, all girls from “good” families are taught from young how to behave, how to speak, how to walk, how to sit, the curriculum they should be proficient in (the confucian classics, needlework, music etc).
What’s the big deal about these “socialite training classes”? Do you expect some big celebrity like Huang XM to date a girl who does not even know how to make herself up or to handle herself in front of cameras?
nur
You make a good point as regards poise, conduct, and so forth. I may be misreading the situation, but it seems what people are noticing is the cookie cutter aspect, as though the ladies being “finished” are almost too similar, even interchangeable. From this article, that aspect seems intentional, though. I wonder if that’s a factor of our hyper-media age? There’s so much more exposure now than ever before. Could that be why that sort of similarity is more evident, even more desirable?