The Chinese Riviera

So I didn't know that China had a tropical island until circa 3 days ago, but I got invited to show at the Hainan Rendezvous and couldn't refuse the opportunity. I guess it was something of a "Billionaire's Fair", where they sold private jets (Airbus, Boeing, Cessna, AirJet, etc. were all there), yachts, and other particular indulgences (art, cigars, champagne, etc.) However, I was more interested in the local culture (meaning fashion culture) more than the billionaire's fashion culture, although both proved to be interesting.

However, I am remiss to let you all know that my iPhone was stolen or lost in Sanya, which was where ALL my photos were of the weekend... The clothes were STUNNING on this island and at this event, some positively so and others not so much. It was interesting to see how the ideas and archetypes associated with islands/island culture/billionaires was interpreted by the locals and visitors alike, and I will certainly have to go back there when I get a new phone to give you a glimpse at some pretty phenomenal stuff and wild styles.

Anyway, I'm off to Tibet around April 16th to go and scout out "The Hope School" for child art talents that can help me create new fabrics to provide customized, artistic products to China's consumers (the proceeds go back into supporting the school and art education, and may also help support The Ailing Foundation). The collaboration will be announced in a more formal forum soon, but I can give you a quick preview of materials that will be launched as a part of the same collaboration.

Only one artist has already been confirmed for this project, but it is photographer-extraordinaire Maleonn. Check out his website for an idea of what is to come of this collaboration, but here is a special sneak peek at two fabrics by Maleonn:



The printed fabrics (starting in silk and cotton in limited quantities) will be used by Chinese designers like Jiang Ling, Nio, Angela Chen, and Angela Gao to create customized and exclusive products, and many of these designers will be showing at Shanghai Fashion Week (April 8-13)... I'll definitely review SFW as the shows pass, and I have higher expectations for this season, as there is better infrastructure being set up to truly help Chinese designers enter onto the world stage.

OBAMANATION

OK, so perhaps the general Mainland population isn't as enthusiastic as I am to have a 黑人 as the US President, but a related and important question to this issue is: Is there a felt presence of ethnic minorities in China (and obviously, how does it relate to fashion and fashion's development in China)?

It's a new year and a new era of American international relations, the world is arguably more globalized and connected than ever, and the World Expo is fast approaching Shanghai which will reportedly bring 70 million international visitors. But even with all this international mixing and melding and mushing around, what of the 50 ethnic minorities contained within the domestic population of China (and their clothes!)?

Well, perhaps you've heard of the Han Chinese. If you haven't heard of the Han Chinese, then you probably haven't heard of any other kinds of Chinese ethnic groups... If you have heard of the Han Chinese, you still probably haven't heard of any other Chinese ethnic minority groups.

I would dare to say that a contributing factor to this is because the idea of an ethnic minority is somewhat stigmatized in China, and similarly is anything that is strongly associated with one of these less "respectable" (for lack of a better term) populations. What I guess my point is is that the clothing of ethnic minorities in China is certainly underappreciated, underutilized, and underinterpreted... They would serve as great sources for inspiration, as would traditional Chinese dress.

I have yet to find Chinese designers that do great reinterpretations of the clothing culture of Chinese ethnic minorities, but I've seen some people in real life with styles obviously derived from some not-Han Chinese sartorial inspiration. And I've certainly needed something to stimulate my eyes after surveying a sea of homogeneity for so long. A previous reprieve to this predicament came on January 3rd, 2010... Do you remember "Installment 2"?

Well on another, more recent date, I spotted this beautiful, ethnic? robe made even more fantastic and dramatic by the wind:


Even though his little boy is wearing a hat that is obviously (fake) Puma, at least his dad is daring to be different... even more daring than donning a long, sweeping robe in public is the fact that the garment probably has some sort of ethnic connotation to most onlookers, which makes it all the more conspicuous and defiantly different.

The above instance was unfortunately confined to a single person, but one one day I was lucky enough to stumble upon a whole ethnic neighborhood way out in the boonies of Shanghai... look carefully!:








Gypsies, dandies, and religious zealots, oh my!! But regardless of what we could label these people, I propose that we just call them courageous defenders of diversity.

But if these pictures can't satiate your thirst for ethnic minority sartorial practices, take a gander at this little boy:

Now, My Dear Comrades, why wouldn't we want our world to be this diverse?