Xinhua News Agency, Hangzhou, March 15th (Reporters Xu Shunda and Kong Linghang) A "half-way monk" engaged in Hanfu design. He has designed nearly 500 sets of Hanfu in more than 4 years. Now he is focusing on the design of horse-faced skirts... "Post-2000" Hanfu designer Liu Wenyue told reporters that she hopes to incorporate modern aesthetics into traditional Chinese costumes so that more people can understand and experience these traditional costumes in their daily lives.
In Xucun Town, Haining City, Jiaxing, Zhejiang, Liu Wenyue's Hanfu studio is small but "complete", integrating all aspects of sample design, product processing, photography and publicity, and live broadcast sales. As a type of skirt worn by women in ancient China, the horse-faced skirt has recently become a representative of the national trend. It has become "explosion" on the Internet and has become the "new favorite" of the Hanfu design circle.
On March 7, Liu Wenyue was interviewed by reporters in the studio. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Kong Linghang
"It is a hot item in our store, and nearly 20,000 pieces have been sold so far." Liu Wenyue showed reporters a recently popular horse-faced skirt in the processing workshop. "The design of this skirt is inspired by China's intangible cultural heritage - the craftsmanship of mother-of-pearl lacquerware. I chose colorful silver threads and flowers, birds, mountains and stones as the main elements, and added a window frame to simulate the appearance of a mother-of-pearl box. I designed such a dress Imitation mother-of-pearl style horse-faced skirt."
In fact, Liu Wenyue majored in preschool education at university. When asked about her original intention of designing Hanfu, she said that it was just a hobby at first. Liu Wenyue liked Hanfu when she was in college, but as a student she could not afford the price of Hanfu. Later, when she saw other people posting Hanfu design drawings on the Internet, she thought it was not that difficult, so she completed her first design work using finger painting on her mobile phone.
Unexpectedly, a merchant spent 300 yuan to buy her work. Although it was not actually produced in the end, the merchant gave her a lot of professional guidance and suggested that she learn computer drawing, which became her starting point for entering the Hanfu industry. .
After graduation, she began to try the design and production of Hanfu as her own entrepreneurial project. In 2019, she opened a Hanfu studio in cooperation with her partners who are also Hanfu enthusiasts. During this period, she also encountered misunderstanding from her family. “My family felt that this profession was too niche. HanfuThe circle is so small, how many people can come to buy it, I didn’t think we could achieve much at first. ”
However, after seeing the Hanfu designed by their daughter and learning that she had a stable income, Liu Wenyue's parents accepted their daughter's job and began to feel proud of her.
On March 7, Liu Wenyue designed a horse-faced skirt on the computer. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Kong Linghang
With the expansion of business, Liu Wenyue moved her studio from her hometown Lishui to Xucun Town in July 2023 because it is closer to the fabric production area. Blue and white porcelain horse-faced skirts, fireworks horse-faced skirts, herbal horse-faced skirts, Year of the Dragon horse-faced skirts... In Liu Wenyue's studio, all kinds of horse-faced skirts shine brightly. "Most of the horse-faced skirts I design draw inspiration from traditional Chinese culture, but they will be integrated with modern aesthetics and the younger generation's understanding of Hanfu."
With novel and unique designs, Liu Wenyue has gradually become a well-known and popular designer in the industry. In 2023, Liu Wenyue paid attention to the Chinese cultural relics lost overseas. She found the catalog of Chinese cultural relics in overseas museums and checked them carefully. She selected the elements of dragon-pattern glazed tiles, and in line with the theme of the Year of the Dragon, she designed and launched a corresponding style of horse-faced skirt.
How long does it take from the moment of inspiration to the completion of the horse-faced skirt? Liu Wenyue said: "It usually only takes 2 to 3 days to design a horse-faced skirt, but to make it into a sample, you need to polish it carefully with the master who developed the sample according to the complexity of the pattern, which takes half a month to One month."
On March 7, Liu Wenyue inspected horse-faced skirt samples in the processing workshop. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Kong Linghang
Liu Wenyue believes that the closer traditional clothing is to today's life, the better it can be passed on: "I hope to make some Hanfu that is more convenient for everyone to wear in daily life. This is why I chose the horse-face skirt as the main product, it is easy to wear all kinds of tops. Matching is not restricted by age."
Now, the Hanfu she designed and produced not only has a group of domestic fans, but has even received orders from overseas. Some of the orders are from overseas Chinese and international students, and some are from foreigners who are interested in Hanfu culture.
"Wearing Hanfu on the streets is the best way to protect traditional culture. I hope more people will understand China's traditional costumes, and I hope more people can participate in protecting our traditional culture." Liu Wenyue said, wearing traditional Chinese clothing Clothing can also become an expression of Chinese cultural confidence in the times.
