Jin Xing Photo: Sina Weibo

Jin Xing, China's most famous transgender star, recently became the new face of Dior. This new collaboration was praised by netizens, who called it a "good match" and a "great marketing maneuver" as the famed luxury fashion house sees Jin's unique sassy charm go with the brand's spirit. 

Describing Jin as a woman of courage with a passion for freedom and art, the brand announced through its official Sina Weibo account on Friday that it was making Jin the new ambassador of its signature fragrance Dior J'adore. In a video, the star said that she supports women's independence and diverse individuality and that these qualities are what the fragrance tries to deliver. 

Netizens rushed to discuss the new collaboration on Sina Weibo, with a majority expressing support for her and adding that she was a great choice to inspire women to pursue their dreams even when the road can be quite bumpy since Jin herself overcame many difficulties after she publicly announced her plans to transition many years ago. 

"I don't like her show or her gossipy sharp tongue, but when she said "embrace yourself" in the video, it was more real and convincing than when those idols say it because we all know what she went through in her life… this is a good match," Wang, 28, told the Global Times on Wednesday.   

"It was surprising to see that netizens' reaction to this has been generally positive. If they truly appreciate Jin's opinions on women's value, this is encouraging to our transgender group because it shows our ways of thinking are being respected," Li, a member of the LGBTQ+ community in Beijing, told the Global Times on Wednesday. 

Besides the voices of support, some other netizens finding Dior's decision to embrace Jin a well-thought marketing move. 

"It is good because it seizes the values of the target consumer group. Women's perfume can very much be a gender-specific product that stresses 'femininity' in promotional materials so that consumers will desire feminine beauty. However, we are now in the time when the public, especially the target consumer group for women's perfume, have changed their minds about what defines women's values and so have begun to desire things that have traditionally been seen as more masculine traits, such as being independent and tough," Vickie Zhang, a marketing expert in Beijing, told the Global Times on Wednesday. 

"The consumer portrait of women who pursue the luxury brand Dior suggests that maybe they are generally more financially capable, as the brand is expensive, and are cosmopolitan career women, because the brand is also a symbol of social status and sophistication. With this image in mind, we can see their strong desire for social confirmation," Tanni, another marketing and PR expert in Beijing, said, echoing Zhang's viewpoint.