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Clothing and Body: case studies in ‘Slow fashion’ in fashion

education

Lan Lan and Peng Liu

Abstract “Same bed, different dreams” (Reinach: 44) is a Chinese expression which reflects

the ambivalent relationship in the collaboration between Chinese and Italian

fashion corporations in the early years of 2000. More than a decade later, while the

economic boom slowing down in China, the manufacturers have shifted its focus to

designer-driven product to better position themselves in the increasingly

competitive market, in other words, the rise of “creative economy”. Meanwhile,

fashion schools in China have also realized the industrial shift demanding highly

innovative and creative designers whom to make “imagination into a product”

(Bill: 50). In response to the market, for example, the curriculum of School of

Fashion at Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology (BIFT) focuses on the

engagement between body and clothing to provoke sensation which allows “a

reflexive and elective sense of self” (Briggs: 227) to be activated during the

process of making, so called “slow fashion”. This paper draws rich discussions

from body study and fashion study to further elaborate the idea of “slow fashion”

applied in Chinese fashion education that delineates the relationship between body,

as historical inherited and cultural embodied being (Tuner; Shilling; Mauss), and

clothing, as “performative aspect of self” (Entwistle: 38) through case studies at

BIFT. Particularly, the investigation demonstrates how Chinese student realize and

develop a sense of individuality through “slow fashion” reconnecting to their

traditional culture, while still living in an urban lifestyle.

Key Words: Fashion education, slow fashion, body, and clothing,

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1. Introduction The transition of manufacturing economy to creative economy has taken place

in recent years in China. Its influence on mass aesthetic prompt Chinese fashion

designer to experience the shift in parallel which lead to a re-focus in design

aesthetic and technique in terms of Chinese tradition and culture. The phenomenon

of being merely an advocate of Western fashion cycle is withdrawing, at the same

time, the characteristic of its own is forming at global stage. The revival of “spirit

of the craftsman” has been advocated by all levels of government aiming to slow

down the process of designing and making, like old masters’ which imply a sense

of attitude toward to slow lifestyle, that would improve the quality of the design

and the final product. Such circumstance requires a change in thought among the

fashion educators working at art/fashion institutes, to redefine its role as

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contemporary fashion educator and re-consider how the concept of “inheritance

and innovation” can be better fused and implemented in fashion education.

Due to the “Cultural Revolution”, Chinese tradition and culture had been

interrupted and depressed for a decade long, and being sluggish afterwards.

Although, the economy open-up policy lifted China in economic capital, the

cultural capital is worsening as Western culture and product occupied ordinaries’

life that Chinese tradition and culture has been largely overlooked. In

contextualizing with fashion students graduated in the last ten years, there has been

a strong sense of Western aesthetic saturated in their design.

2. Fashion education in China

Fashion educators in Chinese institute/university can be allocated into three

categories: “conservative”, “market driven” and “overseas”. Firstly, the

“conservative” educators are those started teaching during 1980s and 90s with

research emphasis in traditional techniques. Secondly, the “market driven”

educators have strong connection with the fashion market, playing several roles for

example providing consultancy to fashion company or running fashion brands

themselves. Their teaching styles lean toward to the taste of the current market and

encourage students to conduct designs and drawings by software, such as AI and

CAD which are widely used in fashion companies. Thirdly, the educators who

have foreign studying and working experience are considered “overseas” who

started teaching in late 2000. They bring Western modules and concepts of fashion

education into their teaching content that make up the majority staff along with the

“market driven”.

Given the graduate employment rate has always been the priority in Chinese

higher education system that graduate need to acquire actual skills in order to

quickly assimilate and accommodate the demand of the market, the institutions

encourage “market driven” staffs to teach essentials in which fashion companies

would appreciate. The shift of the economy reflect market segments which requires

design and product to be diversified for the demand of customers with multiple

background. Therefore, the role of design in fashion education focuses on

originality and creativity in broad social and cultural context, which is hoped to

drive the Chinese fashion market in developing an innovative market embedded

with a strong sense of Chinese character. During the transitional period, fashion

institutions need to keep the balance between the existing market, which favourites

fast and low-cost product, and new tide, which features on personalized product.

For instance, Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology (BIFT), as the only

Chinese institute named by fashion with majors in fashion design, has re-thought

its role under the current circumstance by asking questions on how educators better

engage students of investigating Chinese tradition, culture, and techniques in

design and how students translate their findings into design language as individual

and original.

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The concern is, through my observation, that the majority of the enrolled

students directly adopt forms and colours of traditional culture in their design that

the lack of research and analysis inactivate the critical thinking and the interaction

between the body and culture and material remains passive. This is a common

problem not only to Chinese students but also foreign students studying fashion at

BIFT, for example: Turkmenistan, South Korean who are enthusiastic of using

native cultural elements. However, the direct use of Turkmenistan traditional

embroidery pattern and South Korean traditional Hanbok reflects neither

thoughtful input of the students in the design, nor the engagement of the interaction

between material and the body. Moreover, students are likely to “deconstruct” and

“re-construct” traditional patterns in their design without proper understanding the

theoretical framework and the methodological approach that the critical thinking is

always absent in their design process.

3. Chinese traditional clothing

The interaction between body, material and spirit appears in Chinese traditional

art and culture as prominent, in particular the making of traditional clothing of

ethnic groups. Women in ethnic Miao begin making their own wedding dress two

years after start learning embroidery techniques at eight years old. They are

persistent in practicing the techniques on daily base with minimum one hour spent

on each day even during busy farming seasons. While practicing, they always

imagine themselves wearing it on the wedding day, thereof, every needle and

thread is embedded with expectation for the future and nostalgia from the past that

the body is engaged with the material through the interaction. Although there is no

academic or professional training provided, the forms and patterns created by

women of ethnic Miao in making dress are cultural contextualized and

individualized in comparison to the students’ work at fashion school. The design of

embroidery in ethnic Miao use narratives from daily matters or myths as scenario,

carefully structured into the foreground to create the composition affected by their

feelings and emotions then. Such process of making reflects the conversation

between the body, material and spirit with the outcome much appreciated. In

contrast, body feelings and emotions is overlooked in fashion education in China

while following Western aesthetic on surface. Therefore, apart from latest

technology and fashion tendency inevitably impacting on design, the role of body

and spirituality shall be re-emphasised in cloth making in fashion education that

the concept of slow fashion gradually gains momentum.

4. Case study at BIFT

A good design is more than just a piece of beautiful garment, as there is many

more can be discovered. “Body first” is the idea that clothing is created to

complete the body by wearing it rather than using body as a hanger to display a

cloth. As good design can be understood and interpreted differently in time, space

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and culture context, nevertheless, a designer needs to spend quality time into the

process of design, researching and analysing relevant factors, including the body,

material and spirit. There is an example over a student’s work at BIFT as the case

study shown below (Figure 1). The initial idea is about Chinese shadow puppetry

and grandma. Instead of copying the shadow puppetry straight onto the cloth, the

student play around with the images of the shadow puppetry and her grandma

through the method her body is most familiar with: free hand illustration. The

process of drawing in sketches is considered part of the research which allows the

student to testify various possibilities and better understand the visual

representation of the shadow puppetry and her grandma that helps to form a design

language later.

Figure 1. Wei Qinwen

The student spends tremendous time in conducting research and practice

activities (Figure 2) with no rush to the final design work. The students did not

refer to current fashion elements in her design, but rather talk to the shadow

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puppetry makers and experience herself the making process which seems like no

immediate connection with fashion design. During the research, the student acquire

better bodily understanding in regards to the making and the materials of the

shadow puppetry, thereafter, she is able to reconcile the visual representation of the

shadow puppetry and her emotional connection with her grandma through the

language of design. The design also demonstrates strong individualization in the

style in which the student reinforce the certain feelings and emotions through

manipulating the techniques of embroidery and beading. The tactility is actualized

through the use of textile coherently with her personal feelings and emotions.

Figure 2. Wei Qinwen

5. Conclusion

To conclude, BIFT, an institute with focus in fashion education, amplifies the

ability of critical thinking in fashion education, meanwhile promote the concept of

slow design. The fashion school has conducted various short courses and study

camps with hands-on experience in relation to Chinese traditional art and culture in

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the aim to stimulate their students, precisely their bodies, to become sensitive to

and sophisticated in translating their bodily experience into the language of design.

Such programmes also involve experts from the fashion industry that allows

students to see things through multiple perspectives, at the same time, balance the

graduates with a sense of market demanding.

Notes

Bibliography

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Lan Lan is Lecturer at Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology (BIFT). She

received her MA in Women’s wear design at London College of Fashion. Her

research and writing is devoted in fashion education.

Peng Liu is Research scholar, artist, and educator. He received his Ph.D. in Visual

Arts at Curtin University Australia and currently doing post-doctoral research

fellow at the university. His artworks have been exhibited internationally working

with wide range of mediums. He writes academic journals papers and book

chapters in the field of cultural study and visual culture.

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