Lets look at the traditional clothing that is worn by the Chinese society.

Women and men during the Qing Dynasty. Changshan (literally meaning long shirt' for the men and Cheongsam for women. the general aesthetic of these garments are very similar women's being very tight fitting and men's very loose.

Changshan were usually the main attire in Chinese culture but in modern society, these are usually worn at weddings, Chinese events and pictures. Black changshans are sometimes still used as burial attire. Changshans were the formal garments in China before western suits came to fashion (again the rise of influences from the western world). The Communist Revolution ended the Changshan garment however at the end of the communist era in the late 70's the Changshan as well as the Cheongsam have risen in popularity.

The traditional Chinese outfits for men are very distinctive to have oriental background because of the shape of the garments and how they are folded around the body with a sash.

The female version of the Changshan, is the Cheongsam. This modern body hugging one piece dress has changed dramatically from traditional China from when it was first created. Initially the garment was very loose and hung on the body showing only the head, hands and feet of the body. In time the Cheongsam became more fitted and revealing. the detail on the Cheongsams usually consists of a pattern made from printing or embroidering.

I've been focusing quite heavily on China's fashion industry and after taking a little break from
all the research i have done i was watching a little television and stumbled on a show called Mary's Bottom Line so i took some notes down... guess no break...

This show was about how British companies have changed from local raw material mills to cheap labour costs from foreign areas such as China. This has had a devastating effect on the fashion labour economy in Britain. and how Mary Porter wants to face this dihlema by creating knickers made from britiain, from the raw material to the manufacturing, relying on british trade and workforce.

with labour costs rising in China due to fuel costs of transportation and labour costs Mary Porter feels that there is a chance of British manufacturing. however importing from foreign grounds is still cheaper. after going into the shopping grounds asking around she found that people are very aware of the importations. it is the next generations that are caring and it was the previous generation that didn't consider the future.

I think that having a British heritage is quite important because people are very aware of globalisation in the fashion industry. to have everything made and created in Britain makes it easier to know where it was made and how it was made to the finest detail

This is the link to the first episode of the programme. 


http://www.channel4.com/programmes/marys-bottom-line/4od

Well after watching a documentary from the trusty BBC website about Wang Lei (a image consultant) talking about his influences of his work and his thoughts of the reform of China's society. In this Documentary, China's youth is one of the focuses as they are the ones that have fully embraced the western world.

When western media portrayed a higher standard for beauty and fashion that deviates from the traditional view of inner beauty, the youth paid more attention to the standard of clothing that they wore. Wang Lei says it is because China's youth did not go through the political turmoils of China's past, creating a naive view of the western fashion and blindingly pursuing it.

'In a society where you need to feel a sense of belonging, fashion gives a sense of identity.'

When Wang Lei immigrated from China to USA, he wanted to feel this sense so he created an image of himself by wearing outrageous clothing and dyeing his hair blond. When he returned to China to start his career, everyone thought he was a celebrity and drew he drew a lot of attention to himself. It was then that he became aware that he was shallow and he took some time to take a closer look at his inner self. Wang Lei believed that orientals should be proud of their heritage.

In the Shanghai Hair Show Wang Lei demonstrates his passion for fusion of the east and west in his work. using screens to represent the west and steel bars to represent the east.

Here is the documentary from the BBC website also shows the Shanghai Hair Show

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Okay here is a few designers that combines the Japanese culture with Kimonos and contemporaries them to the highly loved western theme. Setsuko Wakatsuki is a designer who elegantly uses kimono fabrics in her wedding dresses taking inspiration from the folds and stitches that create such beauty

The oriental detail and silk material compliments well with the meaning of the dress for the special day. It isn't hard to realise why these dresses are so popular other than the fact that they are masterfully crafted, these dresses are a symbol of ones heritage. But give the sense of importance and fairytale wedding that western young ladies  love so much. Setsuko Wakatsuki has perfectly balanced the use of Japanese cuts and folds for an authentic kimono but has the elegance that is the symbol of beauty.

Here is work from Setsuko Wakatsuki:

Western inspired Kimono wedding dresses. Features such as the obi sash has been manipulated to form a bow on the back and the print of the flying crane,

  

 Contemporary Kimono wedding dress saturated in colour highlighting the bride's pure white skin. 

a bridal fashion design named Eiko whom works for Aliansa has created some amazing work that combines the work of western dress and eastern traditional culture. using everything each culture has to offer and using each feature to compliment the next.

These are some of my favourite kimono dress designs that i feel highlights everything that i am trying to accomplish in my project. the use of colour is obviously chosen specifically pink for the cherry blossom that appears at spring and so is the Japanese colour for purity  or blue to highlight water and sky for elegance.

Embracing Western Ways while cleaving to the traditional

found an article on the western world expanding to the Chinese culture and some response to that. this article was very interesting in a few aspects, some of the youth's embrace to western culture and also the numbers generated by the statistics.


http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-01/21/content_411100.htm

since the reform China's youths have embraced the culture of the west. 'They eat at any of the 600 McDonald's, or 1000 KFC's in China. the flock to the NBA League and Italian soccer matches and would rather watch Hollywood rather than domestically produced films.

This is quite a change from the once secretive society to become a land of consumerism.

Zhang Yan, a junior student at the School of International Studies at Renmin university of China 'People my age are attracted to western trends and products because they are so advanced and innovative.'

I can understand the attractive quality of the advanced technology of the west such as Apple products that would draw the attention of the young. My own experience of going to Hong Kong is very much saturated with western influenced culture and fashion where brands such as Nike and Adidas have clearly won the attention of the young rather than Chinese orientated brands because of the higher quality and obvious brand recognition. where as the attraction of Chinese oriented brands is the cheap cost.

As stated in the article: 'anyone who fails to converse convincingly about international sports stars is considered a hick; the same applies to unfortunates that wear domestic rather than Adidas or Nike brand sports shoes' 

This is the effects of Globalisation, where every country in the world knows a hand full of brands and know the quality so stubbornly stick to the brands. The youth of China have clearly embraced the western ways however this has almost come at the expense of their own heritage. The fact that China is still trying to catch up in the fashion world means that the world around the youths is rapidly changing and it can get hard to lose yourself in the process.

In the Tianjin survey of 2000, 50 percent of students and young people in other occupations agreed with the statement, "Chinese and Western cultures both have weaknesses, and should develop in tandem as they learn from each other." Nearly 30 percent of respondents thought that, "World culture will eventually merge."

World cultures are very important to keep traditional but it cannot be helped to be influenced by another country and their culture.

This article has taught me that in my project i need to carefully balance the two different societies so that i can clearly represent both cultures but as a integration and not an invasion. Note to self: keep this in mind!

On my research into the fashion industry with China i found a Fashion photographer who is absoulutely brilliant. Her work describes my own interest so clearly Chen Man uses highly colour saturated images in her work combining both photography and 3-d rendering. she combines the traditional elegance of the western world and the diverse image manipulations of the east.

Ive read a few interviews that she has done talking about her work. She talks about her work and the collaboration with M.A.C.

Self Portrait photographs of Chen Man

http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2012/02/qa-photographer-chen-man.html

'In China, the fashion world is still developing. Their taste, their concept, their definition of fashion is still being formed.' 

I totally agree with this quote on the Chinese taste in fashion and Chen Man has bridged this so well in her work.

'She feels that in the modern Chinese society, Chinese people are heavily influenced by the Western culture'

 This is very interesting to hear, because of the reform obviously already established luxery brands would have bombarded China with their products, and because China had not established their own Fashion culture, have embraced the western world to it's fullist.

heres some of her work:
 

Okay lets get this started I have a few things to post as i started researching already before making this thing.
safe to say that i am really excited about this project as this is like a personal story for me. ive read a few articles, seen some published work watched some BBC documentaries as soon as i had the chance. well lets get to it...


Well from 1978 there came a economic reform in China that led to the booming growth in the economy. between the late 70's and early 80's the reform allowed for international investments. more specifiacally to the fashion industry, it allowed comapnies to branch out to China and show people the western world through advertisment. 

During the Late 80's 90's came the second wave of the economic reform, involving Pritization of companies and lifting of price controls. This is needless to say contributed to the further growth of the industries in China.