Who is Fan Chengcheng? New face of Fenty Beauty in China and Fan Bingbing’s little brother

Recently named the face of Rihanna’s beauty line in Greater China, Fan Chengcheng has earned a string of luxury brand endorsements in the past year
One of a group of emerging stars dubbed ‘little fresh meat’, the singer and model is among the most in-demand young celebrities in East Asia

Beauty

Lauren James

Published: 5:00pm, 15 Sep 2019

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Fan Chengcheng, the younger brother of Chinese megastar Fan Bingbing, has described himself as “very happy” to have been named the face of Fenty Beauty in Greater China.

His affiliation with the company was only announced last week, but the 19-year-old singer and model – a member of pop groups Nex7 and Nine Percent (in which he is known as “Adam”) – has already featured in a video campaign for the brand, founded by pop star Rihanna in 2017.

A clip released by Fenty Beauty shows Fan waking up, showering, hopping into a car and heading to perform at a nightclub to an audience of women, who are pictured getting ready for the gig with Fenty products. In another video, this time posted on social media app Tik Tok, he demonstrates the brand’s highlighter by flicking it at the camera.

Fan is following in the footsteps of Naomi Wang Ju – dubbed “China’s Beyoncé” – who was announced as the brand’s first spokesman for China earlier this summer.

The cruelty-free brand has earned praise for its range of foundation shades and refusal to test on animals; in China it sells products through online retailer Tmall, which ships items from outside the country to circumvent the law that requires all cosmetics sold there to be tested on animals. (Tmall is a unit of Alibaba, which owns the South China Morning Post.)

Fenty is expanding to several Asian markets, including South Korea, where the brand has hinted at a collaboration with K-pop singer Kai.

Fan Chengcheng, the younger brother of actress Fan Bingbing, has enjoyed a rapid rise in China since his appearance on a TV talent show in 2018. Photo: Weibo

“The increasing demand for make-up among young Chinese consumers, a high sensitivity towards social media and a preference for online shopping has pushed Fenty Beauty into the Chinese market,” a spokesman for Fenty Beauty’s Tmall shop told Chinese newspaper Global Times last week.

Fan, a talented singer and rapper, is showbiz-savvy. In 2018 he was catapulted to fame at the age of 17 after becoming one of the final nine contestants on the hit Chinese television talent show Idol Producer. In November, he wrote the Nine Percent song I’m Here, which sold more than a million copies in its first five minutes of release.

From then on, he began collecting a string of accolades, which so far have included being honoured as the “most influential fashion male celebrity of the year” at the Sohu Fashion Awards in Beijing.

The exposure won him attention from luxury fashion brands Louis Vuitton and Loewe, and he soon found himself tagged by Chinese internet users “little fresh meat” – a term used to describe young, attractive, up-and-coming male celebrities.

In a market where celebrity endorsement has a big influence on retail sales, Fan and other “little fresh meat” stars, including rapper Kris Wu, found themselves bombarded by brands looking to tap their large social media followings and ability to reach young, mostly female consumers.

Adding to an already impressive roster of brand signings, Fan was also revealed earlier this year as the first China spokesman for French jewellery retailer Fred, which praised his “talent as a composer” and “enthusiasm towards life”.

Fan Chengcheng models jewellery by Fred. The French brand announced him as its first China brand spokesman this year.

As the beauty industry shifts towards inclusivity and embraces the gender spectrum in its marketing, Fenty Beauty is one of several brands to actively promote its products to a male audience, posting tutorials aimed at men and selling a “Gentlemen’s Fenty face” kit, which includes foundation and oil-blotting tools.

Although “little fresh meat” are noted for their feminine features and personalities, the brand does not appear to have lined up Fan to model its products on his own skin. In a promotional image, he is shown brandishing a tube of crimson lipstick, but does not wear any.

Fans of the singer have flooded Weibo, China’s Twitter, with messages applauding the brand for its newest hire and urging others to buy Fenty Beauty products. “Thank you very much for choosing Fan Chengcheng as the brand spokesperson! A great honour indeed!” one fan wrote. Another posted: “I don’t know why, but I suddenly need to buy buy buy!”

Fan Chengcheng is promoting Fenty Beauty lipstick, but isn’t shown using it himself. Photo: courtesy of Weibo

Fan is 19 years younger than his sister, and his family have long fought off rumours that he is Fan Bingbing’s son, not her brother. The actress has addressed the gossip in interviews, claiming she was the one to convince her mother to keep the child and that they had to pay a fine due to China’s one-child policy.

Fan Chengcheng’s nascent career seems not to have been affected by his house arrest in 2018, along with his sister, in connection with her tax evasion, a scandal that saw several luxury brands terminate their contracts with her. He is quickly emerging as one of the most in-demand young faces in East Asia.

Rihanna, through her own newly created Weibo page, heralded the arrival of her brand’s newest spokesman, saying: “Welcome to the Fenty Beauty Global Family!!”

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