Chinese outfits delight crowd at Fashion Week

Professors' historically inspired designs caused a stir as they hit the catwalk

SUVA - With lively music and lighting, models on Friday night displayed designers' outfits during Fiji Fashion Week in the country's capital, Suva.

This year, costumes designed by two Chinese professors from Shanghai-based Donghua University caught the spotlight, winning applause and cheers from the audience.

It was the second time for Chen Bin, a professor and veteran designer, to participate in Fiji Fashion Week. This year, he brought Lijin, a type of folk brocade originating from the Li ethnic group in China's Hainan province.

Lijin, with a history of more than 3,000 years, has been listed on UNESCO's "Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding".

In his works, Chen aimed to integrate the traditional technique with modern design under the theme of "regeneration".

Mao Dan, a Chinese professor and designer, was excited and nervous to attend Fiji Fashion Week for her first time.

Mao got her inspiration from Du Fu, a poet in the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

The poetry created in the Tang Dynasty, mostly romantic and vivid, was an important part of the culture.

In Mao's works, the combination of Chinese poetry and the texture of silk creates a dynamic and magnificent sense of time and space.

Chen and Mao work in the design department of a fashion institute in Donghua University. They think China has a long history with rich culture and costume designers should take advantage of this.

The pair claim that by combining Chinese culture with designs and by entering more international fashion events, designers are likely to enjoy success.

"The Chinese costume design industry has great potential. What we should do is keep abreast with the times and design our costumes with a sense of innovation, and in particular with Chinese characteristics," they said.

Yang Hui, Chinese director of the Confucius Institute at the University of the South Pacific, said that by bringing their works to Fiji Fashion Week, the designers did not just introduce modern Chinese costume to the region. They also offered local people a new perspective to understand Chinese culture, as well as its fast-growing fashion industry.

Ellen Whippy-Knight, organizer and founder of Fiji Fashion Week, said she was impressed by the Chinese designers and their works.

"I believe fashion and designing have a great future and thank the two Chinese designers for bringing their wonderful costumes to our fashion week - they really helped the event," she said.

Fiji Fashion Week, first held in 2008, has attracted many local and international designers over the past few years. The theme for this year was based on the environment.

Xinhua

(China Daily 05/30/2019 page17)