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When first arriving in Beijing there was a clear paradox between the generalist external view of China as seen through the eyes of Western media, documentary photographers and filmmakers with the reality of 21st century urban Chinese living. With the expected militaristic and historical visual references not being particularly evident. It was clear that much of the personal history and memories of change had been disregarded in favour of an economic and contemporary drive for the ‘new’ that had little time for the ‘previous’.

初到北京，我即刻感到，21世纪中国城市人的真实生活方式与西方媒体所描述的大相径庭。脑海中期盼的充斥着军装与革命制服的海洋根本无迹可寻。在中国加速发展经济，走向现代化的驱动下，那些并不久远的个人历史和时代记忆已被遗忘，抛弃。

As a fashion designer and educator there are key principles and drivers that inform my own practice and my philosophical viewpoint on fashion and clothing. Ostensibly, how people dress explores individual identity, as a non-verbal language, in response to social, economic and political contexts. All of which were both reinforced and illustrated during my time in China and the subsequent curating of this exhibition.

作为一名时装设计师和时装设计教育工作者，我认为，服装服饰是一种非语言的沟通表达方式；客观反映出着装者的社会阶层，经济地位，政治立场。在中国的所见所闻及策办本次展览的过程，让我对时尚的这种本质有了更深刻的认识。

 The exhibition has three sections all containing garments, images and objects that explore the changes in Chinese clothing across the 20^th Century.

展览跨越了中国20世纪三个独特的历史时期。陈列的服装，图片等实物资料展现了中国时尚在不同时代背景下的变迁与发展。

After the demise of the Qing dynasty due to the 1911 Revolution, social reform led to a change in dress codes. This was characterised by a greater freedom of expression for Chinese people, resulting in the development of the now iconic ‘Qipao’ dress, which had its roots in traditional wear but became, like men’s fashion of the time, influenced by Western styles of dress. Often ornate and beautifully crafted the ‘Qipao’ became, by the 1930’s and 1940’s, the most significant and fashionable style of female dress in China.

1911年的辛亥革命推翻了满清统治，结束了中国历史上最后一个封建王朝。社会的变革引发了时装的革命。人们摒弃了传统苛刻的礼教与风化，解除了服制上等级森严的种种桎梏，思想得到解放。旗袍这一带有中国传统特色，体现西式审美并采用西式剪裁的女性时装由之诞生。与此同时，男性着装也开始深受西式风格影响。30年代和40年代是旗袍的黄金时代，也是近代中国女装最为光辉灿烂的时期。

When the Communist Party came to power in 1949 these Western influences were rejected as clothing came to represent nationalism, ideology and functionality.  In the late 1960s to the mid 1970s, the Cultural Revolution limited style further, regarding care over personal appearance as a sign of spiritual corruption, and resulting in an androgynous style that made no real distinctions between male and female styles.

1949年后，中国共产党执政中国。服装的审美功能渐渐被政治功能完全取代，一切受西方影响带有西方元素的服装服饰被深恶痛绝。到了文革时期，服装的款式更趋贫乏，单调朴素，整齐划一。人们抵触精神污染，年龄与性别的差异不复存在。

As this period ended with the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, a new economic and political policy of ‘opening up’ to the world manifested in an unprecedented experimentation of dress styles and a renewed interest in Western fashion styles. This new era of recent economic reform and modernisation mirrored the earlier part of the 20^th Century where in respect to fashion, modernisation meant Westernisation.

这个时代随着1976年毛泽东的逝世而结束。发展经济和对外开放的新政策，再次带来社会变革。这不禁让人联想到发生在20世纪初的那场思想解放运动，人们重新获得了服饰穿戴的自由，又一次对代表着时髦与现代的西洋之风敞开了大门。

As early as 1979 Pierre Cardin presented the first international designer fashion shows in Beijing and Shanghai, albeit to a limited and professional audience and was soon followed by other brands, notably Nike, who opened their first joint factory and the rights to sell products in China in1981。In a relatively short space of time ordinary Chinese replaced the previous uniformity with international styles and embraced the homogenous styles found in any city, anywhere in the world

1979年，皮尔卡丹作为第一个被中国人所知的国际著名时装设计师，在北京，上海举办了时装秀。观众仅为有限的专业人士，前所未有的视觉冲击，在当时造成了轰动。很快，其他国际品牌纷至沓来。1981年，耐克公司进驻中国，开办在中国的第一家合资工厂，并取得销售权。在相对很短的时间里，刻板朴素的制服装迅速淡出于人们的视线，中国普通百姓的着装理念与穿衣习惯日益走向国际化，

Contemporary China is now the second largest economy in the world and has nurtured its own fashion industry. As well as manufacturing garments for internationally recognised brands, local designers are creating beautiful collections and extravagant fashion events, which reflect new found wealth and global engagement. As a judge at China Fashion Week in Beijing from 2003 to 2009 I witnessed at first hand the significant development of this industry, searching for not only its own identity against the further emergence of global brands but the commercial and business profiles that support success and recognition.

当今的中国是全球第二大经济体，有着自己成熟的时尚产业。在为众多国际品牌加工制造的同时，也培植了无数杰出的本土设计师和品牌。时尚产业制造了新型财富，并日趋国际化。2003年-2009年，我担任中国时装周国际评委，亲眼见证了中国时尚产业令人叹为观止的飞速发展。在日益严酷的国际竞争环境下，既保持了自身独特性，又实现了商业成功。

There is an almost cyclic journey through the exhibition with the pre revolutionary pieces using fine Chinese and imported fabrics that incorporate hand embroidery and skilful manufacturing techniques, through to the contemporary designers who are reviving traditional skills and developing modern styles that are embedded with cultural resonance.

在本次展览中，我们又一次领略到时尚在岁月长河中的循环往复。精美绝伦的手工刺绣，中西合璧的面料加工，精湛考究的中国传统服装制作技艺，在中国当代设计师的作品中得到了继承与发展。与现代设计理念及加工手法相融合，传统时尚之美实现复兴。

Significantly the period post 1949, through to the opening up of China in 1979, although stylistically tempered by a political overview, are crafted with care and precision and have an inherent beauty that should not be be underestimated.

从新中国1949年成立至1979年改革开放之前，这段历史时期的中国时尚，虽然带有浓重的政治色彩，但那制作精良的革命制服所体现出的精准规矩的简约之美令人难以漠视。

Ultimately the narrative to the exhibition is the unique and individual stories of the garments and their owners or designers, supported by a broader visual and referenced context, yet recognising that clothing and style cannot exist in a cultural vacuum and is impacted on, by a broad range of social, political and economic influences。

综上所述，本次展览意图通过多种信息载体，讲述服装及服装背后的故事。时尚无法独立存在于文化真空中，时尚是社会，政治和经济影响的客观反映。