On May 8th,
I was invited to attend an important lecture held at Solent University. Two
guest speakers from the Hong Kong Design Institute came to deliver a lecture on
contemporary and historical Chinese fashion and design.
The first
speaker, Victor Tong, delivered a talk titled ‘Chinese Opera Mask Art’. He
taught us that colour in Chinese Opera masks helps the audience immediately
identify the characteristics of the character because different colours have
different representations. As well as colour, symbols printed on the masks of
characters plays a key role in defining their personality and delivers a more
in depth meaning than colours. Tong demonstrated the influences of symbols and
colour on not only traditional Beijing Opera masks (Leslie Cheung’s ‘Farewell
My Concubine) but also modern interpretations (Chinese Opera version of Thor,
God of Thunder). He also went on to show current trends that include the
traditional Chinese masks in fashion e.g. SS07 Just Cavalli fashion line and
Usain Bolt’s 2008 Puma campaign.
It was really
fascinating to hear of all the different meanings behind colour and symbols and
especially intriguing to realise that these masks and still being used today.
They’re timeless pieces of artwork from a culture rich in colour and symbolism.
The second
speaker, Pacino Wan, held a talk titled ‘The Fashion Battlefield in China’. He
spoke of the hardships he encountered whilst trying to make it as a successful fashion
designer in Hong Kong. This is entirely understandable considering the top 2
market places for retail space are Hong Kong and New York. He wanted to alter
and shape women’s street fashion. Today, Wan is deemed a successful fashion
designer in Hong Kong and throughout the world. He kindly shared with us his
unique and innovative designs. Wan’s talk was slightly pushed for time and
however we got to see a video montage of his runway shows and amazing clothing
collections from when he was just starting out, to his most up to date lines of
women’s wear.
It was lovely
to hear of Pacino Wan’s journey to success, a real life reminder that it is
possible to achieve your dreams and overcome great difficulties to stand out
and make a name for yourself.
IMAGE
REFERENCES
