Shandong craftsman creates dress from human hair

A customer examines a hair qipao at the event in Juancheng county. [Photo by Liu Yongxia for chinadaily.com.cn]

An enterprising craftsman in East China's Shandong province recently created a unique qipao – a traditional Chinese dress – from human hair.

The piece was displayed at an e-commerce event in Juancheng county in  Shandong province and drew attention for its novel material and exquisite design.

Yang Yishan, the owner of a craft factory in Zhengying town in Juancheng, said the qipao was made entirely of human hair, including the buttons, tassels and other details. He said it was the first of its kind in China and had the benefits of being eco-friendly, breathable, flexible, lustrous and collectible.

Yang has been in the hair industry – which supplies wig makers – for over a decade and has been exploring different ways of using hair. He came up with the idea of making a qipao out of hair, which was unprecedented in the industry.

The biggest challenge was how to connect two hairs together. Yang tried various methods, but they failed to preserve the beauty of the clothes. He finally figured out how to seamlessly connect the individual hairs.

Yang spent all his savings and enlisted his son's help to invent a machine that could connect hair. He obtained two patents for his invention and registered a trademark for his hair clothing brand.

He also applied for the recognition of his hair clothing technique as an intangible cultural heritage item.

Yang sought the help of a clothing designer in Jinan, the provincial capital, to design fashionable and trendy styles for his hair cloth. He also learned how to make clothes himself.

Yang often travels to cities like Guangzhou, Zhengzhou and Nanjing to promote his "hair qipao". He said his goal was to make hair clothing more popular and accepted by people. (Edited by Fan Yuanyuan)