The mysterious red carpet trash bag

In recent days, the image of Chinese actress Zhang Jingyi on the red carpet at the Beijing International Film Festival has spread like wildfire across social media and various trending outlets. The actress puts on the photocall Dressed in an elegant black dress. So far, nothing out of the ordinary. The reason for the viral video is something else: in her hand she's carrying a simple yellow plastic bag, the kind used for grocery shopping or taking out the trash at home.

As expected, the comments—ranging from playful mockery to merciless criticism—were swift. It's a familiar pattern: whenever fashion offers one of these seemingly extravagant images, many observers see it as the perfect opportunity to discredit an entire sector with the usual labels: frivolous, superficial, and out of touch with reality. Comparisons to Balenciaga were quick to surface. In 2022, this brand launched the Trash Pouch, a black leather bag that almost literally recreated household garbage bags and sold for around €1,400.

First, it's worth remembering that no one is obligated to buy these kinds of products, which should help to lessen some of the outrage they often provoke. But the virulence of some reactions is revealing: many immediately see a trivialization of poverty, without giving much thought to the possibility that there might also be—as is often the case in contemporary art—a desire for critical provocation or conceptual reflection. These pieces are especially useful for the media to tell the general public: "Look how ridiculous fashion is."

But returning to the case of the Chinese actress's plastic bag, after the fashion world once again became the butt of the joke, it turns out that this isn't a fashion accessory at all. Zhang Jingyi chose to carry a real plastic bag because it's an essential element of the film. The Onewhich she presented at the festival, and which appears as a narrative element. But there's another detail: despite the attention it has received these days, the image is not recent, but rather dates from the spring of 2025.

All of this highlights the nature of a considerable portion of the news that ends up capturing media attention. In a context of information overload, those stories that offer an immediately recognizable and easily discussed image are the ones that succeed. This is what has often been described as the attention economy: a dynamic in which the news stories that circulate most widely are not necessarily the most relevant, but rather those that present the most striking visual contrast and instant sensationalism.

This phenomenon isn't exclusive to the fashion world, but also occurs in the media in general. However, there are fields—like politics or economics—that have specialized journalists better able to separate fact from fiction, while others continue to be treated with a certain disdain, as if any writer could contribute without specific training. This is the case with fashion, despite being one of the most influential economic and cultural sectors on the planet, but also with contemporary art, which experiences a similar situation.

A good example is the ARCO art fair—held in Madrid from March 4 to 8—where every year many mainstream media outlets rush to find the most extravagant work that will allow them to write a sensational article. It's always easier to fall into the cliché of "is this really art?" than to explain what the fair truly is: a complex cultural ecosystem, but also an international market in which artists, gallery owners, collectors, and institutions negotiate symbolic and economic value. The advantage of art over fashion is that while the former has a parallel cultural infrastructure that legitimizes it, the latter continues to suffer from a certain lack of protection, which means its prestige can be called into question by a simple garbage bag.