Chinese designer adds a bit of Tang to SA Fashion Week

30 March 2017 - 11:31 By Emma Jordan
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Chu Yan's collection is inspired by the Tang Dynasty of China which existed more than a thousand years ago.
Chu Yan's collection is inspired by the Tang Dynasty of China which existed more than a thousand years ago.
Image: Supplied

At 7pm this evening, an exquisite collection of luxury ready-to-wear will be presented by Chinese designer Chu Yan as part of South African Fashion Week.

The show, entitled A Date with a Thousand Years, is inspired by the Tang Dynasty of China which existed more than a thousand years ago. The palette is drawn from the time - rich reds and oranges with shots of turquoise. A lotus flower motif, a favourite of the dynasty, is redesigned and reinterpreted into the work.

"This series is based on the research results of my doctoral thesis," says Chu Yan, China's first PhD candidate in fashion design.

"The beautiful image of the red dress of the Tang Dynasty, along with the traditional natural dyeing method, reveals a gorgeous yet simple, quiet and lively oriental aesthetic."

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Yan is an associate professor at the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology. She is showing at South African Fashion Week with the support of the Ministry of Culture of China and the embassy of China in South Africa.

"I'm very pleased to be able to exchange ideas with South African fashion designers," she says.

"It's also interesting for me to understand more about the development of fashion in South Africa, and to introduce the tradition of Chinese clothing culture and its latest developments.

"I hope through this exchange and my ongoing work that more people will understand Chinese clothing traditions and development, and become more aware of Chinese designers and Chinese design brands."

Chu Yan's show will be followed by a lecture in Johannesburg as part of fashion week tomorrow, at which she'll present her findings in a talk entitled A Date with a Thousand Years - the Classic and Fashion of Chinese Clothing.

Her talk will promote the application and dissemination of Chinese traditional culture and arts in modern life.

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Angela Yeung of Impilo Collection, a Chinese South African award-winning jewellery designer, will complement Chu Yan's collection.

"We have a very similar design aesthetic," says Yeung. "I admire the Asian elements and reverence for Chinese culture that is in Chu Yan's philosophy, and I see coming through in her work. It's very similar to the way I highlight my cultural history."

"We are obsessed with fashion and the business that can be created from fashion," says South African Fashion Week founder and director Lucilla Booyzen.

"For us, a cross-culture collaboration is not only a knowledge-transferral opportunity but also a great publicity generator.

"Our main aim is building brands in South Africa."

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See safashionweek.co.za for a schedule of the week's events at Level 7, Hyde Park Corner, Johannesburg

This article was originally published in The Times.

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