Any grandma in Hong Kong will speak fondly of the local ‘Two Girls’ cosmetics brand Kwong Sang Hong (KSH)…
Back in 1898, only a handful of rich families and expats could afford foreign cosmetics. Seeing a gap in the market, Fung Fook Tien launched KSH. Legend has it that Fung’s branding was inspired by two beautiful women he spotted in the street, whilst another version suggests they came to him in a dream. Either way, Hong Kongers loved the brand, if only because it cost ten times less than its competitors.
The girls featured on early labels and advertisements were actually men disguised as women, since – in feudal society – women were rarely allowed outdoors and models were impossible to find.
The success of the brand attracted many counterfeits and deliberate imitations though Fung pushed numerous landmark copyright cases through the courts to protect his business.
By the 1920s, KSH’s value had grown six-fold and real women were then being used in their advertising campaigns – it’s quaint posters were considered ‘art for the commoners’. Even throughout the Japanese occupation of WWII, the brand remained profitable despite their factory being burned down and stores being seized by the occupiers.
In the era of post-war austerity, the brand diversified into property and finance. It now boasts several hundred lines and remains a cultural icon for the city. Posters of the girls are often bought by tourists on Temple Street and Cat Street for about HK$10.
Blog posts charting Hong Kong’s colourful past…
- 1000+ ‘Before and After’ Photos of Old & New Hong Kong
- Cool Vintage Hong Kong Tourism Posters
- Execution of Namoa Pirates in Kowloon, 1891
- HK’s Boom Years: The Best of Fan Ho
- Mainland Refugees Fleeing Famine Rejected by HK
- Margaret Thatcher in Hong Kong
- More Vintage Photos of Old Hong Kong
- Newly Unearthed Photos of 1950s Hong Kong
- Pictures of Hong Kong in 1972
- Rare Shots from Inside the Old Kowloon Walled City
- Shing Mun Redoubt, HK’s Secret WWII Tunnels
- Street Scenes in Dreamy Colour 1954-2004
- The ‘Great Chinese Takeaway’ – the 1997 Handover
- The 1958 Hong Kong Cha Cha Championship Winner (Bruce Lee)
- The 1967 Hong Kong Riots
- The Bombing of Hong Kong by the U.S. 14th Air Force
- The Day a Cargo Ship Washed up on Cheung Chau Beach
- The Hakka Walled Village of Tsang Tai Uk, Sha Tin
- The Luxury British Liner at the Bottom of Victoria Harbour
- Unseen Royal Geographic Photos
- When the MTR Was New
More links at the epic, new Hong Wrong Mega-Index.
I hate to say this but I think the girls were prettier in the posters before they started using real women :-/
I hate to say this but I think the girls were prettier in the posters before they started using real women :-/
Agreed.
Agreed.
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