Leslie Cheung’s most famous on-screen looks: ‘Days of Being Wild’, ‘Farewell My Concubine’ and more

Hong Kong film star and singer Leslie Cheung passed away 21 years ago. If he were alive, it would have been his 68th birthday tomorrow (September 12, 2024).

Cheung was a pivotal figure in Hong Kong’s entertainment scene in the 1980s and 1990s when the industry enjoyed its golden era. In his three-decade-long career, Cheung not only played fun, suave or charming characters that won the hearts of fans, but he also pushed the creative boundaries by playing experimental, gender-fluid roles that required him to sport avant-garde looks.

While not all of his looks were celebrated at the time, his adventurous spirit and boldness have cemented him as an icon of Hong Kong cinema today.

Tatler revisits some of these signature looks that redefined local cinema’s history.

In case you missed it: Hong Kong’s new Leslie Cheung tribute musical makes its debut

Casual street look

Leslie Cheung (right) and Maggie Cheung (left) in the Wong Kar-wai’s movie “Days of Being Wild” (Photo: Michael Tsui / Getty Images)

Leslie Cheung in “Days of Being Wild” (Photo: Michael Tsui / Getty Images)

In Wong Kar-wai’s 1990 crime-romance film Days of Being Wild, Leslie Cheung plays the lead role of Yuddy, a lost young man in Hong Kong, who longs for freedom in a complicated social environment. His reckless, rebellious image is underscored by his slicked-back hair, a white vest and an earth-coloured plaid shirt—a commonly seen casual street look in the city in the 1990s.

Unruly hair

Leslie Cheung in a still from the film “The Bride with White Hair 2” (Photo: Getty Images)

Leslie Cheung and Brigitte Lin in “The Bride with White Hair 2” (Photo: Getty Images)

Cheung co-starred with Taiwanese actor Brigitte Lin in the 1993 action movie The Bride with White Hair 2. He played the role of martial arts apprentice Zhuo Yihang, whose long dark robe, created by Oscar-winning Japanese costume designer Wada Emi, highlights his character’s sorrows after undergoing many vicissitudes of fate. Emi further paired Cheung’s costume with loose and messy hair to echo his unruly yet chivalrous character. This hairstyle was a breakthrough for men’s hairstyles in Hong Kong films.

Peking Opera actor

Leslie Cheung in “Farewell My Concubine” (Photo: Getty Images)

Leslie Cheung’s experimental spirit is best celebrated in Chen Kaige’s epic historical drama Farewell My Concubine (1993), which portrays the relationship—with its homoerotic subtext—between two Peking Opera actors, one of whom plays an emperor and the other his concubine in the opera. Cheung acts as the concubine and dons the elaborate traditional headpiece and costumes. His convincing act, paired with the opulent costumes, delivered a concubine figure we empathise with. While cross-dressing is a common practice in Peking opera, Cheung was bold to take on this onscreen role when men portraying gay or transgender figures were not common in Hong Kong cinema.

Charming, sleek and handsome

Leslie Cheung plays a suave gangster in “Temptress Moon” (Photo: Getty Images)

Leslie Cheung plays a handsome young man in “All’s Well, Ends Well”

In the 1996 movie Temptress Moon, Cheung plays a gangster who charms the eldest daughter of the Pang family, played by Gong Li, for money and ends up falling in love with her. Cheung’s suave look is a combination of glossy hair, a white shirt and a vest—a charming appearance that contrasts his character’s role as a fraud.

In the 1992 comedy All’s Well, Ends Well, Cheung played the androgynous second son of the wealthy Chang family. In most of the scenes, he is presented as this handsome and flirtatious young man wearing an elegant black sequined top.

This article was originally published in Chinese. Read it here.

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