Summerhall, Edinburgh

As part of the Edinburgh Arts Festival, Fashion Revolution China is exhibiting at the amazing Summerhall building, until the end of September. Although edited from the original show there are some new pieces never before seen. The show is located in the old Dissection Hall and also features as part of the Edinburgh International Fashion Festival.

Images from the exhibition itself.

Here are a selection of images from the show. These include the 1930's Qipao's, military and utilitarian uniforms and the work of the contemporary designers. There are also shots from the short films. The beautiful hand crafted 2007 Guo Pei Catwalk show kindly supplied with consent to show from Guo Pei and Jack and the historical narrative expertly crafted by Dominic Turcotte in Beijing. Also note the 1950's pattern cutting books which show how to re-cut garments from old.

Curators Talk Re-Visited

This Thursday sees the second curators talk. Interestingly there has already been a number of talks to a variety of different subject areas. These include Fashion Studies, Textiles, Arts Events and Management, Costume and Modelmaking. All have had a slightly different perspective.  Costume and Textiles were interested in the hand crafted quality of the fabrics, whilst Model makers were interesting in the 'meaning of objects' and therefore a cultural resonance of the pieces. Fashion Studies students engaged in a written review as part of a unit while Arts Events and Management were interested in the selection, curation and narrative of the exhibition. The questions and interaction with these diverse groups has further informed the reference points and built on the original curators talk. Hopefully this second will be as enjoyable and popular as the first.

Film Night: Farewell My Concubine

There was an excellent attendance to the showing of Farewell My Concubine. The film which traces the 50 year relationship between two Peking Opera actors, is set against the back drop of political upheaval in Beijing between 1924 and up to 1978. The films characters adapt to living in new social conditions and this is reflected in both lifestyle and dress. The narrative therefore supports the clothes and images in the exhibition and reinforces how socio-political and economic conditions define clothing.

Guo Pei for Barbie

Guo Pei has an extensive collection of rare Barbie Dolls which have been designed by fashion brands such as Dior. She was also asked to create a range for Barbie and re-interpreted her collection from 2007. Some of the scaled down dresses still incorporated 20 metres of fabric while all the embroidery was immaculately executed by hand. The Barbie collection was shown in Hong Kong and will be shown in Paris in 2012.

Contemporary Designers: Guo Pei

Guo Pei

郭培

Guo Pei began her career in the early 1980’s and is recognised as one of the first generation of Chinese fashion designers. Under her company name Mei Gui Fang (Rose Studio) she is the leading Couturier in China and her list of clients includes people from Beijing’s highest political, media and social circles. Her designs were notably featured throughout the Beijing Olympics of 2008, including the ceremonial dresses, as well individual garments for performers, at the opening and closing ceremonies. Guo Pei stand outs from other contemporary Chinese designer due to her revival of many lost embroidery techniques as well as her catwalk collections. These are on a scale that equal, and in some cases surpass, the technical feats of Paris couture, with one dress in particular taking 50.000 hours to hand embroider in gold. Her showroom and studio, in Beijing, is both elaborate and functional and harks back to an age of opulence and craft similar to the Maison Lesage embroidery atelier of Paris. She manages to perfectly combine oriental references with western style cutting and her attention to detail underpins all of her work. This can be seen in the hand crafted garments loaned for the exhibition and the catwalk pieces from 2007, illustrated through the supporting visuals.

郭培是中国第一代时装设计师，从事服装设计将近25年，是中国时装高级定制的领军人物。她和她的玫瑰坊工作室为包括政界要员，社会名流，影视明星在内的高端客户设计制作礼服。她的作品出现在2008年北京奥运会开幕式，闭幕式及颁奖仪式上，及具中国特色，做工考究，令人惊叹。她那件花费5万个小时，100个绣工，纯手工制作的金色华服，代表中国远赴巴黎参加法国高级时装周，引起轰动。在位于北京中心地带，面积达三千多平米的玫瑰坊总部，那富丽堂皇的会客厅，风格迥异的试衣间，营造出唯美奢华的艺术空间。令人恍若置身于Maison Lesage（世界顶级刺绣大师）的巴黎会所。在郭培的作品中，你可以找到稀有罕见，几近失传的中国传统刺绣和剪裁技艺，也可以领略西方工艺与东方元素的有机结合。所展出的影像资料和实物作品来自郭培2007年时装发布

Contemporary Designers : Ran Fan

RanFan
范然

RanFan is one of the new breed of up and coming Chinese fashion designers. Now based in Beijing, she studied fashion in the UK at Central St Martins and upon returning to China, immediately gained a reputation as a cutting edge designer, creating contemporary designs with an international feel. In 2010 her collection won her the Ellassay Fashion Innovation award and the Cosmopolitan (China) Fashion Designer of the Year award, whilst in 2011 she was also given the Best Fashion Designer Award from The China National Garment Association and China Central Television.

RanFan not only works from her own studio, creating individual pieces for clients but is also part of the developing independent retailer market, selling her collections to a range of companies across China. This is a new departure in the Chinese retail sector and could well herald the beginnings of high-end designer brands in the long term. The garment on loan is from the 2011 summer collection, it has also been to South Africa where it was photographed for Vogue.

范然-中国新生代时装设计师，毕业于英国圣马丁学院服装设计专业，现居北京。前卫的剪裁和国际化的视角为她迅速赢得了声誉。2010年，范然荣获Ellassay时尚创新大奖和中国年度设计师大奖。2011年，获得由中国服装协会颁发的最佳设计师称号。

作为独立设计师，范然不仅局限于小规模的个人定制，还涉足零售市场。中国有很多公司在代理销售她的品牌。从长远看来，这种专门经营独立设计师作品的销售方式为零售市场提供了新的模式。本次展品来自范然2011夏季作品集，曾随《时尚》杂志赴南非进行拍摄。

Contemporary Designers: Tong Xue Tao

Tong Xue Tao

童雪涛

The Qipao is now globally recognised as the classic Chinese garment for women. Individual crafted versions in silk with embroidery are still sought after by celebrities and government agencies as representing national identity.

As a garment the Qipao is suitable for women across different sizing’s and ages. Although initially this seems like a simple garment it is full of details, including specific fit lines, hand piping and the individual construction of knotted button fastenings called Pankou.

The Pankou contain both symbolic and decorative motifs and are the product of thousands of years of knotting craft

Tong Xue Tao has been teaching the art of the Qipao in Fashion Schools across Beijing and training students to understand the subtleties of the fit and the traditional techniques required to fully understand the complexities of the garment. As a designer she not only creates designs for a range of clients but has also produced Qipao for exhibitions and prestigious events. The modern version of the Qipao on display in this exhibition was created for Miss China to wear in the 2011 Miss World contest.

旗袍在全世界范围内，被公认为是经典的中式女装，在各种重要场合，节日庆典上代表着中国的形象。旗袍适合各种身材和年龄的女性穿着，看似形式简单，却在细微之处有着丰富的内容。如那繁复精巧的盘滚和巧夺天工的盘扣。童雪涛在北京的服装院校从事旗袍艺术的一线教学。作为设计师，她尤其在传统手工制作上有着精湛的造诣。本次展出的她的作品，是童雪涛为参加2011年世界小姐大赛的中国选手专门设计定制的。

Contemporary Designers Gu Xin

Gu Xin

顾新

It is extremely difficult for local designers to compete within Chinas contemporary retail environment. Western brands with their financial and marketing superiority dominate the market in China. For example Italian brand Max Mara has a total of 250s stores all situated in prime locations across the country and along with other major brands such as Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Gucci have invested heavily not only in the major cities but also in the second tier cities. The vast population and the increasing amount of disposable income available to a section of the community has led China to become one of the fastest growing markets for luxury brands globally. Designers such as Gu Xin therefore rely on a studio based, client orientated business model. Her brand ‘Mostarry’ is located in Sanlitun, which is one of the commercial centres of Beijing, and is known for handcrafted garments suitable for red carpet events and specialist commissions. In effect she is like many Contemporary Chinese designers following in the historical footsteps of the western brands by developing a customer base from the affluent, who are looking for uniqueness.
当今的中国本土设计师面临着异常严峻的市场竞争环境。拥有雄厚资金和成熟市场营销经验的西方品牌，在中国占有很大优势。举例来说，像意大利品牌Max Mara,在中国各大城市开设有多达250家连锁分店。其他各大顶尖品牌如路易威登，夏奈尔，古琦，注资巨大，店铺遍布包括二线城市在内的中国各大，中型城市。在中国巨大的人口基数中，那一部分持续增长的富裕阶层的强劲购买力，使中国迅速成为全球最大的奢侈品消费市场。中国的独立设计师们不得不在有限的生存空间里另辟蹊径。顾新的工作室位于北京繁华的商业中心--三里屯，以经营个人定制为主。她的作品以手工刺绣闻名，经常活跃于红地毯和其他特殊场合。追随着西方品牌发展的历史脚步，顾新以及其他中国当代设计师以经营满足少数富裕人士特殊着装需求的个人定制为起点，走向自己品牌的发展之路。