Chen Xiao Swaps Period Attire for Stylish Modern Menswear for L’Officiel Hommes China

It’s a good day to wake up by spotting some pictures I missed from the December 2013 issue of L’Officiel Hommes China featuring one of the hottest rising male C-actors around. Chen Xiao is currently filming the Yu Zheng-produced version of Return of the Condor Heroes, and it’s a Herculean feat indeed to actually make this gorgeous man wholly unattractive to me. Blame the weird shaggy bun head, made worse paired with clothing culled from a commune of beggars, turning his version of Yang Guo into a cross between Oliver Twist and Huck Finn. Chinese version, of course. All my dreams of having a dashing Yang Guo to drool over just flew out the window since it’s hard to be dashing when one is wearing palazzo pants. Thankfully its just a character and the real Chen Xiao has a very hip and playful style all his own. For the L’Officiel Hommes photospread, the concept is a modern gentleman and he sports an array of the latest sartorial styles in menswear. As far of leading men are concerned, he’s on the slighter side in both height and heft, but the twinkle in his eyes when he acts more than makes up for it in charisma. 2013 has been a fantastic year for him, with hit dramas like Legend of Lu Zhen and The Swordsman, the Gong 3 movie, filming big budget productions like RoCH and Yun Zhong Ge scheduled for 2014 airing, and carrying on an are-they-aren’t-they very public flirtation with Lu Zhen co-star Zhao Li Ying. All in all, not a bad way to announce his arrival at the big stage and quite a meteoric rise for a young man. I’m most looking forward to his interpretation of Liu Bing Yi/Liu Xun (Emperor Xuan of Han) in the upcoming Yun Zhong Ge. It’s a very meaty character to dig into, and while he’s considered the third male lead in the book, narrative importance-wise he’s probably the male lead. I was disappointed he turned down playing Ling gege (Emperor Zhao of Han) to play Liu Bing Yi but in hindsight he probably has a keen eye for spotting which roles are likely to capture the audience attention the most, even if he’s the villain of this tale.