China News Service Beijing, May 11 Title: How does the fashion "Chinese style" affect the history of the development of Western clothing?
Author Jia Xizeng Professor of Academy of Fine Arts, Tsinghua University
From the silk costume worn by the statue of the priestess of Dionysus in the Naples Museum in ancient Rome to the modern costumes in the international fashion trend of the 21st century, the figure of "Chinese style" can be seen. Nowadays, after years of development, the Chinese fashion industry has broken the fashion barriers in the Western context with the Chinese style formed by Hanfu, Guochao and Guofeng fashion, and gradually built the subjective content and local fashion ecosystem of Chinese local style.
Silk has earned a permanent world reputation for Chinese civilization
Speaking of "Chinese style", it is certainly inseparable from the western transmission of Chinese silk civilization. Planting mulberry, raising silkworms, spinning silk and weaving silk are the great inventions of the Chinese nation. As a unique fabric in China, silk enjoys a high reputation in the world. The export and spread of silk has won a permanent world reputation for Chinese civilization. As early as the Western Han Dynasty, Chinese silk spread along the Silk Road to the Roman Empire. Since then, the gorgeous silk produced in China has been continuously transported to the West through the "Silk Road", which has greatly enriched the Western clothing culture.
Silk products. Photo by Li Jiaxian, a reporter from China News Service
The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle mentioned silk in his History. The Greeks had long been aware that there was a silk-producing country in the far East, which they called "Seres" according to the pronunciation of "silk" or "qi".
Like the Greeks, the Romans used the word "Cyrus" to refer to China. Ancient Rome did not have cotton, and the material of clothing was generally wool and hemp. The thin and soft Chinese silk was introduced to Rome and was immediately favored and fanatically pursued by the Romans. The Romans wore silk as a form of glory, and the crowd rushed to buy it as a symbol of wealth and power. Ancient Westerners also had great reverence for Chinese silk, using it as clothing for worshippers. Both the statue of the priestess of Dionysus in the Naples Museum and the goddess of the Parthenon are dressed in silk.
In addition to the silk produced in China, what brought important changes to Western civilization was the Chinese-made loom. British scholar Joseph Needham said in the "History of Chinese Science and Technology" that the "jacquard machine" is An important contribution of China to the world's science and technology. In the Spring and Autumn Period, China's jacquard machine and jacquard silk weaving technology has been quite mature. The ancient Western vertical machine technology could not weave gorgeous, intricate patterns of fabrics. It was not until the sixth and seventh centuries that jacquard machines and flower structure methods were introduced to Europe, and Westerners understood the structural principles of Chinese flower machines and flowers, began to change from vertical to horizontal, and began to weave some more complex patterns of jacquard fabrics. Or inspired by this, Westerners invented the French Yakarti flower machine, and eventually led to the emergence of the leading machine used in various countries in the world.
Whether it is Chinese silk or the spread of weaving technology, it has a profound impact on the exchange of culture and technology between the East and the West, the improvement and enrichment of the material and spiritual life of people in the East and the West.
The 18th century European aristocracy so admired the imaginary "Chinese style"
In the 18th century, the European continent set off a Chinese craze, followed by the birth of the Rococo style (French Rococo transliteration, an Art Deco style). Westerners have integrated Chinese style with local Rococo style, forming a "Chinese style" that reflects The Europeans' understanding of Chinese art and the imagination of Chinese customs and customs.
American models wear Chinese silk costumes to show off Chinese elements. Photo by Lu Wei, China News Service
Although the name is "Chinoiserie", it is derived from the French - Chinoiserie, which refers to the European production between the 17th and 18th centuries, and is widely popular in gardens, furniture, porcelain, textiles and almost all daily necessities, with a gorgeous and complex oriental atmosphere and Chinese characteristics of the Art Deco style. Its essence is that Europeans imagine Chinese culture and Chinese style in the development of local culture, and directly or indirectly imitate a European style created.
Why would you imagine China? The reason for this is that there is a long spatial distance and huge differences in customs between Europe and China, and these contents reflect China often from rumors or simply the imagination of the designers. Therefore, the "Chinese style" that was popular in Europe in the 18th century often has traces of mixing, piecing together and even making up. To be precise, "Chinese style" is neither pureLy Chinese taste nor an absolute European tradition, it mixes various creative elements, blends the characteristics of the East and the West, and even blurs the boundary between the cultural and artistic classification between the East and the West, which is the product of the collision of cultural exchanges between the East and the West.
This "Chinese wind" also has the meaning of "China fever". In rococo's time, the hippest French were proud to imitate the Chinese way of life, and those who did not understand Chinese etiquette would feel ashamed. This has led to a surge in demand for Chinese products in Europe. In the 1730s and 1740s, Europe imported more than 75,000 horses of silk into China every year. Driven by interests, many European local silk manufacturers will draw traditional Chinese patterns such as dragons, phoenixes, flowers and birds on silk products, and indicate "Made in China" to imitate China's original imports.
In the late 18th century, the neoclassical art style was popular, with the characteristics of a dignified and elegant era. Its simplification and the use of modern new materials abandon the cumbersome decoration of the Rococo art style, coupled with the acceleration of the pace of life brought about by the rise of the first industrial revolution, and the wave of Europeans who have penetrated into China have found that there is a huge gap between the real China and the dream country, and the "Chinese style" inevitably declines.
The prelude to fashion once again opened for "Orientalism"
How does "Chinese style" influence the historical development process of modern Western clothing and contemporary Western haute couture? This begins at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
At that time, the travels and trade of European and American tourists and merchants in China, trade and plundering by the Eight-Power Alliance led to a large influx of Chinese art and costumes into the West. In 1935, the first international exhibition of Chinese art was held in London, marking a new stage in the understanding and study of Chinese art in Europe. This allows European designers to have a direct dialogue with Chinese art.
Under the influence of oriental styles and the Art Deco movement, well-known fashion designers such as Gabrielle Chanel, Kristen Dior, Ilsa Schipperli have applied Chinese elements such as silhouettes, patterns, fabrics, and craftsmanship to fashion design. For example, the French designer Ms. Chanel transformed a dragon robe into a modern women's jacket in 1930 and a white calligraphy printed long skirt in 1956; french female designer Schipperley designed the Ming Dynasty paddy field suit Chinese-style cardigan in 1939...
In the 1950s and 1960s, with the popularity of "Orientalism" in Europe and the United States and other countries, the qipao representing the fashion of Chinese women's clothing also became an undercurrent in the Western world. Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly and other Hollywood actresses have appeared in cheongsam. Its style is cut in the Western way to make the cheongsam more fit, the sleeves are shortened, and the skirt length becomes shorter, highlighting the figure. Fascinated by Chinese culture, French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent drew inspiration from Chinese literature, film and artwork to design the 1977 "Chinoiserie" autumn/winter haute couture collection. In this series, Chinese styles such as plackets, stand collars, disc buckles, horse coats, and cheongsam, as well as Chinese elements such as brocade, velvet, crepe fabric, quilting, embroidery, and mosaic, have opened the prelude to the Chinese style of contemporary international fashion.
The short-sleeved cheongsam exhibited at the Suzhou Silk Culture and Skills Exhibition. Photo by Li Jiaxian, a reporter from China News Service
Since the 21st century, with the continuous improvement of China's comprehensive national strength, the cultural and fashion industry has entered the fast lane of rapid development, and the Chinese market has become one of the most important and promising consumer markets for the international fashion industry. Especially under the influence of the new crown epidemic in 2020, the Chinese market has "risen against the trend" and become one of the few markets in the world to achieve "positive growth" in luxury sales.
The theme show of "Jinyi Royal Dress" was staged at the 2021 China Chongqing International Fashion Week. China News Service reporter Chen Chao photographed
Relying on the huge market demand and strong economic strength, after more than 40 years of development, the Chinese style formed by Hanfu, Guochao and Guofeng fashion has broken the fashion barriers in the Western context, gradually got rid of the influence of Hollywood, Japanese and Korean Waves, stepped out of the "other" status in the Western international fashion system, and gradually built the subjective content and local fashion ecosystem of Chinese local style.
Coupled with the powerful and special aesthetic paradigms, aesthetic systems and grid ideas contained in traditional Chinese culture, as well as the unique cognition of natural things, their own expression methods and concepts of creation, "Chinese style" has become the absolute protagonist of today's international fashion field. (End)
About the Author:
Jia Xizeng, Professor of the Academy of Fine Arts of Tsinghua University, Member of the Academic Committee of the China Fashion Designers Association, Member of the Education Committee of the China Fashion Color Association, Expert of the National Examination and Administration of Art Professional Specifications and Approval, Lecturer of the National Excellent Course "Chinese Fashion History", Editorial Board Member of "Fashion Designer", Editorial Board Member of "Journal of Donghua University (Social Science Edition)", Academic Planner of "'Huaxia Clothing' Academic Forum on the History of Clothing in Chinese Colleges and Universities", has worked in "Decoration", "Forbidden City", "Dunhuang Research", "Art Observation", "Costume Designer". He has published more than 50 academic papers in journals such as China Clothing.