There are many firm believers of the traditional Chinese clothing culture and they are working hard for its future. Let's meet one of them.
Professor Jiang is not the only one helping to bring about that bright future, many others are also lending a helping hand. In Beijing, there is one such company, which is focusing on promoting Chinese clothing culture in the West.
Rong Wei was one of the first male models in China. In the early 1980’s, Rong Wei worked as a part time model for prestigious international fashion companies like the YSL (Yve Saint Laurant). He came into contact with renowned designers, such as Pierre Cardin. Rong Wei says he learned a lot from them. Their dedication to art and fashion made a deep impression on him. Later Rong Wei began his own research into Chinese fashion, and decided to promote Chinese clothing around the world.
“Through my research I found that, actually, even as early as the Yuan dynasty, after Marco Polo brought Chinese clothing to Europe, an upheaval in the world of fashion took place, which even influenced the fashions worn by the Royal families. Actually China led the fashion trend in Europe at that time.”
Rong Wei later established his own company. He continued to carry out fashion research and develop his own brand names. Later, he took the name "Long Feng" for his brands, which in English means Dragon and Phoenix. Rong Wei emphasized that the images of the Dragon and Phoenix featured on his brands look different from the intricate images of the dragon and the phoenix taken from the Ming and Qing Dynasties. He deliberately chose the simple depictions of these symbolic creatures from the Han dynasty, which dates back to around 2000 years. He later opened his own boutique with same name in Beijing.
Rong Wei explains that there are two elements, which make his clothes unique. All of the clothes at his store are made by hand and the designs seek to achieve the perfect combination of Chinese design and western design. Rong Wei, explains why he prefers clothes which are produced by hand.
“We use a sewing technique derived from the Han dynasty called chain sewing or interlink sewing. This technique involves a lot of time and concentration to accomplish even a very small piece of work. But, the pattern, which is sewn onto the cloth gives a rich textured effect to the material, and this type of sewing lasts a long time. The patterns we use are taken from the abstract Han models, and they’re especially popular with westerners.”
Rong Wei says that in the past, Chinese clothes had a bad reputation overseas for being cheap and of low quality. So when he developed his overseas business, he paid a lot of attention to quality. He says that nowadays advertising and management is essential for a company, especially for companies doing business with foreigners.
Rong Wei says he’s now doing business with companies in Canada and Europe. He wants first to explore this market. Back home, the company is doing research into restoring the traditional clothes of all the major dynasties in Chinese history. When the project is completed, he will hold a series of fashion shows around the world to promote his company’s products, as well as the Chinese culture.
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