August 2010
1 post
July 2010
12 posts
“My idea in Orientalism is to use humanistic critique to open up the fields of...”
– Orientalism by Edward Said
China gets intimate
The cast designer for Aimer Lingerie, Xu Yanzhen, has chosen the latest environmental friendly material —- a renewable fiber fabric to make the lace of the lingerie much more unique. I don’t really understand why her collection theme was called “Discovery”, but it expressed a uniquely natural and delicate design element.
This was during China’s fashion week S/S...
Exhibit at the Museum of Chinese in America (NY)
Cheongsam (Qi Pao) Collection
Graciously donated by Pamela Chen, this collection includes 77 Chinese dresses (cheongsam / qi pao) custom-tailored in the 1930s and 1940s, once owned by her mother Phoebe Shou-Heng Chen (1917-1993). These exquisite dresses express Chinese design and fashion sensibilities, and will be featured in an upcoming 2010 exhibition, That Chinese Dress: Fashion and...
Luxury Lab-China: The Biggest Opportunity for... →
Taipei IN style 2010 draws near!
Taipei IN Style (TIS) 2010 is near! Spotlighting the power of brands and showcasing up and coming designers, TTF (Taiwan Textile Federation) and TAITRA (Taiwan External Trade Development Council) have worked closely in line with the “Branding Taiwan” policy launched by the government together with the industries to reinvent brands and re-energize the fashion industry. This will be the 5th Taipei...
Eco-Chine II: Designer
Yeohlee Teng’s Zero Waste collection
Yeohlee Teng moved to New York from Malaysia to study fashion at the Parsons School of Design. She has worked primarily in New York City and established her own house, YEOHLEE inc in 1981. Yeohlee believes that “clothes have magic.” She dresses the “urban nomad”, a term she coined for her Fall 1997 collection, defining a lifestyle that requires clothing...
“Apparently beauty moves us most when it disposes order to near-chaos.”
– The Creative Process edited by Lars Gustafsson, Susan Howard & Lars Niklasson
Eco-Chine I
Is silk Green?
Renewable It is renewable resource, as opposed to a finite material, such as fossil fuel derived textiles, like nylon or acrylic. Silk is the protein fibre spun by a silk moth larvae, most commonly Bombyx mori, to make its cocoon. In commercial silk production some moths are retained for breeding so more cocoons can be constructed.
Biodegradable Being a natural fibre, Silk is...
“Appeals to the past are among the commonest of strategies in interpretations of...”
– “Culture and Imperialism” by Edward W. Said
The Sun Yat-sen / Mao suit in Contemporary Fashion
Karl Lagerfeld’s Pre-fall 2010 - SHANGHAI
Vivenne Tam Fall 2010 collection
It is technically the Sun Yat-sen suit because he did introduce the style shortly after the founding of the Republic of China as a form of national dress although with a distinctly political and later governmental implication, but most westerners are more familiar with the term, Mao Suit, so for now...
April 2010
1 post
The Pearl River Mart
While I was strolling around Soho/ Chinatown a few weeks back, I conveniently stumbled upon the Pearl River Mart! If you’re looking for Chinese goods that are more affordable, the Pearl River Mart (477 Broadway) sells stylish and affordable goods that range from chopsticks and calligraphy sets to very chic clothing (1st floor).
A quarter of a century ago, a few young overseas Chinese men...
March 2010
6 posts
Orientalism: Past and Present
Orientalism is the depiction of anything including the Middle East to India and Indo-China. This included Arabic, Indian, West Asian, Chinese, Thai, Muslim, etc. When explorers later traveled farther into Asia to the Pacific Ocean, they then defined anything from the Pacific Ocean onward the “Far East”. Still, the term, Orientalism, is incredibly broad and was often used to point out most things...
1 tag
Lotus shoes
3- 4.5 inch beauties.
I was browsing through Valerie Steele’s Fetish: Fashion, Sex, and Power, the other day and explored the concept of pain and pleasure. Most would view the foot binding process torturous and disgusting. but Fetish goes into how women have pleasure in binding their feet to please men. There’s also that “ornamentation” factor that made a woman...
The Lightest Silk
1.60 meters long and as light as 48 grams, this voile Buddhist robe was unearthed from Mawangdui Han Dynasty Tomb and is also the lightest silk clothing in Chinese history.
Since it was so light, the upper class wore 10 layers like these for formal occasions.
& Speaking of lightweight..
Donna Karan spring 2010 RTW:
February 2010
9 posts
“The game of fashion is to some degree an ever-changing confrontation between...”
– “Dress and Morality” by Aileen Ribeiro
Drexel Historic Costume Collection
This late afternoon, I finally returned from my trip to Philadelphia to see the Drexel Historic Costume Collection at Drexel University. It was nice to have a quick “get-away” in the middle of the day in the middle of the week. It felt like sneaking a cookie before dinner. I also have to make an appointment to visit the MFIT, but I wanted to make an earlier excursion to Philly. I...
January 2010
11 posts
HK Fashion Designers →
quick notice-
My camera USB used to import all of my photos from my camera to my computer is currently missing. I’ll be MIA for a little bit…
-T
3 tags
Taipei excursion
I’ve finally landed in Taipei, Taiwan a few days ago. Besides noticing that the city has become significantly organized since my last visit 4 years back (for instance, drives have finally decided to take notice of the dotted lines on the road, otherwise known as lanes), I’m also noticing how everyone dresses. Most girls tend to dress like Japanese girls with dolly petticoat skirts,...
“Commonplaces never become tiresome. It is we who become tired when we cease to...”
at the Narita Airport!…ready to head back to cold NYC.
