The qipao, also known as a cheongsam, is a traditional Chinese dress that came to popularity via socialites and the upper class in the 1920s. Of course, this was under Mao Zedong's communist leadership , when most of China was built into a global, industrial superpower, at the expense of millions of Chinese people. The wearing of the qipao shouldn't be negatively construed, per se, but it is a fabrication of very real people and events that largely go ignored by admirers of other cultures, especially the fashion industry — Dior or not. To note, as well: The original qipao was wide and loose, covering most of a woman's body, only revealing her head, hands, and toes.