【Young Designer】
In July 2021, Zhengzhou rained heavily. Fan Mengge's hometown of Xinxiang, which is close to Zhengzhou, was also affected by the disaster. The water level slowly rose, and she was trapped in a tall building, watching a pot of green plants on the windowsill soak its roots with rainwater. The leaves gradually turned yellow and curled, and she was touched by it.
"From that pot of greenery, I realized how devastating extreme weather can be to the world."
Fan Mengge, 22, is a senior and is studying fashion design at Henan Institute of Science and Technology. The withered green plants in the heavy rain inspired her to use leaves as a visual concept for her graduation project, named "Context Inheritance", which translates to "Inheritance in the same vein".
Using a special three-dimensional stitching technique, Xiao Fan expressed the meridians of the leaves on the fabric.
"Visually, it expresses the vein of the leaves, and the theme, I want to say that people and nature are in the same vein, and facing up to the problem of environmental protection is actually to protect ourselves."
On the evening of March 27, on the show of the final of the "China Cup • Too Cool" College Graduation Season Costume Design Competition, the work designed by Fan Mengge won the title of "champion" in the knitting track.
Xiao Fan's work walked the catwalk.
Like Fan Mengge, the works brought to the competition by Qingdao girl Wang Yitong are also knitted fabrics.
Wang Yitong is from Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology. The national tide is booming, and she and many partners around her are fans of traditional culture. Studying in college and coming to the ancient capital of Beijing, she was like a fish in water, and ran to major museums when she had nothing to do. Once, she saw the wrong gold and silver from the Warring States period in the exhibits of the Palace Museum, a layer of gold and silver pens walking dragon snakes on the rusty thousand-year-old bronze, and she asked herself: Is there a more beautiful design than this?
Xiao Wang shows the wrong gold and silver ornaments in the album of his works.
Green Dragon White Tiger, Suzaku Xuanwu, animal ornaments on wrong gold and silver are reproduced into the fine stitching fashion; Blue, red, yellow, white and black are the main tones of the collection, and the five colors are regarded as solemn and orthodox during the Warring States period, giving fashion an elegant beauty.
Wang Yitong said that the inheritance of culture and craftsmanship is the tradition of Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology. Before the competition, she learned that she had obtained the qualification of the school's graduate school, and she felt a little proud to take over the torch.
Wang Yitong wore clothes of her own design to participate in fashion week.
"After grad school, I still want to do a doctorate, inherit traditional culture, naturally open up innovative ideas, young people actually have a high acceptance of these things." You see these designs of mine, I usually wear them myself, which are actually very suitable for young people. ”
In the competition of the China Cup on the evening of the 27th, Wang Yitong, who is determined to revive classical aesthetics, won the Most Commercial Value Award for his work "Boundless • Fusion" - which undoubtedly sends a clear signal from the professional jury of the competition: there is a lot of room for mutual reconciliation between tradition and fashion, art and business.
【Runway Track】
"China Cup" has gone through ups and downs, but it is a familiar name for generations in the Chinese fashion industry.
In 1995, the "China Cup International Fashion Design Competition" came into being in an era when Chinese had infinite reverie about fashion and the emerging superior lifestyle symbolized by fashion. In the past ten years, the China Cup has exported a large number of outstanding talents to the industry.
In the spring of 2023, the China Cup will usher in its fifth year of resumption. Compared to 28 years ago, the industry's thirst for talent is greater than it was then.
Contestants at the Mode show.
Fan Mengge, Wang Yitong and 22 other shortlisted friends were selected from thousands of entries from home and abroad. The competition first brought their work to the Mode clothing exhibition under Shanghai Fashion Week, and during the five-day exhibition, young designers stood by the shelves every day, receiving the attention of the market and the critical eyes of buyers.
From front to back, the competition provides young designers with what a fashion show should have.
On March 27, Changde Road 800 Show, a flint agent who has been sending models for big brands at home and abroad all year round, selected a group of young models to form a gorgeous lineup. The organizing committee of the competition arranged the models for the catwalk one by one based on the size, tonality and individual needs of the author. Of course, everything in front of and behind the scenes provides a fairly large arrangement for the contestants' works.
The background is like a battlefield.
This is the first time that most of the contestants have had the opportunity to bring their own work backstage to the runway, and the designers face the models, and they are a little jerky with each other. The first appearance of Van Mengge's work, she was nervous, the backstage was crowded, she was trapped in a small corner, struggling to go back and forth, the model finally put on complicated clothes, and then half crouched, lowered her head, and tied a decorative headband with her.
Xiao Fan in serious preparation.
Models have more runway experience than younger designers, they can read the work, and they don't hide their love for good clothes. The cramped backstage, even if it is just a turn, wants to let the designers see the effect presented on the stage as much as possible and adjust the details of the clothing.
The curtain opens, accompanied by rhythmic music, models step by step, and the second stage takes the stage. Fan Mengge stared at the surveillance TV screen in the background and said regretfully: "It's a pity that there is no way to go to the audience to see the presentation of my own works." ”
Costume design work is hard: day and night, drawing, looking for fabrics, playing boards back and forth... In the scene of Internet communication consumption, the bright catwalk and the burning budget behind a big show are more like a ceremony to establish a sense of faith for designers, buyers, and audiences. The moments when the work shines make people believe that wearing clothes and buying clothes is not only a business, but also a matter of glory and dreams.
【New Industrial Chess Game】
Shao Feng is a veteran of Shanghai's apparel industry and has served as the deputy secretary-general of the Shanghai Fashion Week Organizing Committee for more than 13 years. China's vast market and solid manufacturing foundation have made Shanghai Fashion Week one of the world's top five, firmly in the center of Asia, and the most dynamic comprehensive platform for the fashion industry.
As a witness and participant in this rapid development process, Shao Feng realized that it was time to use the rich resources available to pave the way for the future of China's fashion industry.
Shao Feng.
He remembers the grandeur of the China Cup Fashion Design Competition, and after several years of suspension, it became a promising event to revive the competition in the system of Shanghai Fashion Week.
Shao Feng has been deeply engaged in the industry for many years, and he is well aware of the real gap between colleges and universities: students' works are fantastic, but it is difficult to be recognized and valued by the market. In the era of increasing volumes, it will be of great help to young people to find the direction of talented young designers as soon as possible, clarify the market positioning, and at the same time let good works have a smooth channel to be discovered and recognized.
As the future of China's fashion industry, the road for young people is good, and the industry has greater possibilities.
In the past, the China Cup focused on newcomers and rookies in the design industry. Five years ago, when the competition was successfully restarted in the form of public welfare, the China Cup was given the more specific mission of "College Student Graduation Design Competition".
In addition to the respected designers in the industry, he also brought in well-known artists and business leaders to join the jury of the competition, in order to let the competition observe the trend of the times and the direction of the market.
Unexpectedly, from the second year of the restart, the influence of the Chinese Cup on campus and industry has become overwhelming, and even began to spread overseas, and a large number of students from Korean design colleges have shown strong interest in the competition named "Zhonghua". Now, the organizing committee has even opened a special Korean track to serve young people studying and communicating in the Chinese market.
Korean student finalists in the competition.
The fashion industry is always changing, and sometimes it can even become confusing to everyone in the game. In this competition, a set of works called "Think of Me" made Shao Feng sigh: "We don't understand their world more and more, I have seen many design works of the meta-universe before, and this set of designs can probably represent the meta-universe!" ”
Seeing new works on the stage he built is also Shao Feng's sweet trouble.
"Think of Me" comes from Yu Yuanyuan, a classmate of Shanghai Business School, and her style is very avant-garde and cool.
Shao Feng, who graduated from Donghua University in the 80s of the 20th century, also noticed that no contestants from his alma mater were shortlisted for the finals this time. "Donghua does not, Beifu two, the traditional five major colleges and universities did not show obvious advantages in the competition."
This is precisely a good sign. Shao Feng believes that this reflects the improvement of the average strength of fashion design education in China, even if the name of the institution is unknown, there are still good teachers, and there are young people with talent and talent.
Li Han, who won the gold medal, is from Nanchang Institute of Technology, which is not a traditional famous school in the garment industry. In addition to the 30,000 yuan prize, he also won a scholarship for further study at a professional fashion school with an Italian background.
The expansion of the influence of the competition has made more forces in the industry begin to look forward to the three words "China Cup". This year, Shao Feng invited the well-known national brand Three Guns to participate in the competition, and Fan Menge participated in the knitting additional track created by the cooperation of Three Guns.
After the competition, Cui Yueling, general manager of Sangun, said that she was pleasantly surprised by the completion of the contestants' works: "Very avant-garde, very trendy, and the design language of young people. We hope that by supporting the contest and the works of designers, more young people can know about the three shots and see our efforts to break the circle. At the same time, as an 86-year-old brand, our knitted fabrics are in a leading position, and we also hope that through the competition, more college students can understand and apply knitted fabrics. ”
Cui Yueling.
End
After the competition, Wang Yitong decided not to rush back to Beijing. This is her first time in Shanghai, and she is impressed by the fashion and comfort of Shanghai, she wants to pull up the little sister who came from Beijing to help, take a relaxing look at the runways and exhibitions of fashion week, and walk the streets full of sunshine and French plane trees.
Van Monge is already on his way home. She wrote in her circle of friends: "The week is over, and the results are of course good ☀️. ”
Fan Mengge proudly posted his award-winning photos in the circle of friends.
She has to rush back to school to continue working on her graduation project. This award-winning experience has given her greater confidence in her heritage.
Fan Mengge is considering applying for graduate studies at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University: "There is a purely British education and design concept, which will be very helpful to broaden your horizons. ”
The China Cup Organizing Committee has begun to draw a new children's wear design competition. The competition will conclude during Shanghai Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2024 in October this year.
Children's clothing has become a new track in the clothing industry.
The new track of children's wear consumption has taken shape, what kind of new concepts, new works, and new faces can be seen in the design competition? Shao Feng couldn't wait.
Column editor-in-chief: Zhang Chunhai Text editor: Jiang Diwen
Source: Author: Dong Tianye