Chinese Elements Highlight the Charms of Fashion

By Auchey Guo

The 2021 Autumn/Winter China Fashion Week was held at 751D·PARK in Beijing on March 24. This seasons China Fashion Week included more than 300 activities， such as runway shows， childrens wear release shows， fashion contests， the DHUB fashion show and business matchmaking， the Dou fashion-apparel and accessories livestreaming grand show， the China fashion summit， open fashion courses and examinations of fashion trends. The week-long event is continually becoming more commercialized， digital， and fashionable， while catering to the needs of young people.

The brand designers participating in China Fashion Week shoulder the mission of inheriting and carrying forward traditional Chinese culture. For example， the brand Chuhe Tingxiang is committed to inheriting and promoting Chinese traditional culture and esthetic tastes. It combines traditional dyeing and knitting techniques such as natural plant dyeing， brocade techniques from the Song Dynasty， Zhangzhou velvet satin， hand weaving linen， and brocade techniques from the Tang Dynasty with modern fashion designs. Heaven Gaia incorporates many oriental intangible heritage crafts including Kesi， Suzhou-style embroidery， feather painting and inlaid filigree metal art into its design works. Grace Chenis inspired by Chinese traditional culture， taking modern esthetics as the theme， and creatively integrates traditional skills， endowing Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage crafts with a new esthetic style via her modern designs.

Chu Yans Creation

The design inspiration here derives from Chinese tea culture and Chinese classical life esthetics. In terms of clothing structure， the designer has mainly adopted the traditional cross collar with a right lapel and the cross collar with raglan sleeves. The fabrics used are mainly natural raw materials which have long been upheld by ChuheTingxiang， including innovative and jacquard weaving of cotton， hemp， silk and wool. Patterns are taken from elements in tea vessels and the Dunhuang murals from the Tang Dynasty， mainly featuring water， flames and lotus flowers.

The launch show opened with a scene set to be a magnificent royal tea party as would have been held in the Tang Dynasty. Replicas of royal golden and silver tea sets unearthed in the underground palace at Famen Temple were used in the show. The show also featured two tea tables at each side of the platform， with one for making tea and the other for tea tasting， vividly reproducing the scene of a royal tea party from the Tang Dynasty. The great magnificence of the Tang empire was perfectly balanced with the natural elegance of the refined scholars.

The twelve Chinese colors embodied during the show were inspired by Chinese tea culture and elegant life esthetics： tea steam， jade ink， golden tea， morning fog， plum blue， etc. The colors are warm， fresh， simple and elegant.

Comunque Yang by Ziqi Yang

The theme of “knots”represents the idea of “connection”， implying mutual warmth between people and making progress together. This season， designer Yang Ziqi incorporated the cultural element of “Chinese knots”into modern fashion designs and added lacing and knotting details to the garments， which combined traditional beauty with modern fashions. The colors of the designs mainly included black， white and gray， giving people a comfortable visible experience.

La brocart by Owen

The inspiration behind the design theme derives from the year 713 AD. This seasons designs feature traditional fabrics and colorings and the Chinese philosophy of inclusiveness. The Tang-style clothes have new structures and colors， with the suits showcasing the new Chinese style， including Hanfu featuring modern elements and new patterns， and a style of of denim weaving with a Chinese flavor. The fabrics mainly include leather， metal， silk， cotton and linen； the colors also range from black and white to deepest black in a testimony to the ups and downs of ancient dynasties.

These designs can also be combined with seasonal clothes in consumers wardrobes， in order to allow Chinese style into the daily lives of every person. These design transcend centuries， respecting the wisdom of more than a thousand years. The clothes inherit tradition， while reshapes the Chinese style with a forward thinking outlook. Although the inspiration derives from classic books， these garments act as informal classics.

GRACE CHEN by Grace Chen

Grace Chens series show followed the theme “Chinese Style-Piano”， with the aim of impressing the audience with Chinese elegance. The Qin “Chinese style-piano” is an excellent illustration of Chinese culture. The tassels， knotting and other techniques have made the fashions special， whilethe shape of the garments maintain the elegance of Chinese style. The combination of these elements with western tailoring also makes the fashions wearable in daily life.

In terms of fabrics， in addition to various silk and metal silk brocades with retro patterns， the designers have also mixed in design woolen linens and wool fabrics to add a sense of lively atmosphere. The texture is exquisite， but is not exaggerated， instead adding an air of aimless wandering to the design. The simple and neat cutting is perfectly tailored to the theme “a night-time stroll in gorgeous dresses”.

The collection gives the impression of being akin to nightwear for martial warriors， with the mask， hat decoration， waist girdle and wristband becoming unique visual symbols， arousing the audiences imagination of the bravery and mysteriousness of the martial warriors and assassins. The details， including stacked collars， simple and powerful shoulder lines， swinging ropes at the waist and swinging hems emphasize the magnificence of the after dark theme.

CHIAYI by Yarong Sheng

The inspiration for the theme of this show come from an exploration of the charms of the new oriental world in a fantasy journey， tracing its origins， and expressing respect for tradition through innovative craftsmanship.

The designer Sheng Yarong uses white， gray and nude pinks and blushes as the main colors， supplementing with splashes of orange. The soft colors bring together the structural cutting with modern esthetics， exhibiting the charm of this new oriental world. In terms of technique， traditional Chinese clothings in laying and scalding technologies have been combined with threedimensional cutting. Through the changes in stitch sizes and thread thicknesses， freehand brushwork has been applied to this seasons design. In terms of fabric， wool and silk fabrics are skillfully combined to create a sense of space through vertical cutting， pinch pleating and machine pleating. The designer has also uses oblique fabric cutting and waist pulling technology to create a soft and beautiful silhouette. The charm of New Oriental not only lies in the craftsmanship， but also in the tailoring， style and design. The designer believes that it is only by integrating culture into everyday life that traditions can be inherited and carried forward.

Feimoyimo by Wing Wang

The designer has drawn inspiration from the Dunhuang murals， and has used geometric picture composition to break away from the normal ideas surrounding the Dunhuang designs. The designer has also interpreted the elements of Dunhuang through the fashion design， perfectly combining fashion and the classics.

The designer uses Chinese colors such as “white silver fish， Zi color， Tianshui Bi， Xuan black” to interpret their fashions. The representative colors of Dunhuang， including ochre and stone green are applied to activate the design. Pictures of three rabbits， and beautiful Zaojing and Feitian musical instruments were made to show respect to the Dunhuang civilization， and to allow people to gain a clear picture of the wisdom and fashion of Dunhuang.

The combination of knitting and weaving is the highlight of this season. A detachable pattern wool piece breaks the traditional singleness to create a unique piece of work. A complete set of woven designs is integrated with wool matching. The difference in materials and contrast of various colors increases the sense of hierarchy and memory in clothing modeling.

DAMOWANG 2021 by Lei Han

The designer Han Lei continued to use “wuxia”， a very representative culture in modern China， as a source of inspiration. He reconstructed the theme of“wuxia” and incorporated the image of night assassin as seen in TV dramas into his works. The overall shape of the gar， mentslends itself to a martial arts environment. The simple and neat cutting conveys a sense of hierarchy allowing for the combination of the noble and grand silk jacquard， elegant literary and artistic retro copywriting， and mysterious wild animal patterns with contemporary elements， such as a wide shoulder pad profile， wide straight sleeves， and hanging necksenclosing the body with ties. This design invokes an image of an elegant， beautiful and modern female martial warrior.

A.1 FASHION CHANGES LIFE by Yunxia Liang

The theme of A.1 FASHION CHANGES LIFE？2021 is the “hermit”. People living in urban cities are gradually losing themselves and sinking into their daily chores， constantly battling ubiquitous information and excessive connections. The “hermit” theme represents the constant “l(fā)osing and receiving” in this noisy world. The significance of the spirit of the“hermit” to modern city dwellers is not about escaping the world， but is instead about listening to the inner voices amidst the hustle and bustle.

The floor of the show is covered with hay， and the sound of models stepping on the hay seems to bring people back to nature. Throughout the design process of the 2021 autumn and winter collection， the designer Liang Yunxia extracted the scenes of everyday life of original characters in the mural， and incorporated these scenes into the printing and fabrics， reflecting the hermits attitude towards enjoying himself.

The designer uses ancient and oriental mysteriousness to illustrate every moment of separation， inter-dependence and peaceful connections between different people through the language of fashion design. The designer continues to write poetry about wandering through the city with his work.