Gold Fashion, Apparel and Garment Design · 2020
Broken Sovereign Womenswear Collection
by Tan Wan Yee
- A' Design Award 2020 Gold Winner in Fashion, Apparel and Garment Design
- Awarded April 15, 2020
- CLIENT: The Woman Of Yee
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 106,935
- Verification code 360D089F05 · Verify this award
About Broken Sovereign Womenswear Collection
Broken Sovereign is a womenswear collection of five looks inspired by Tang Dynasty dress and Malaysian Chinese culture. The jacket shape refers to a Tang Dynasty greeting pose. Wide Tang sleeves are combined with a trench coat to suggest layering and constraint. Neoprene is used for the jackets and coats, as the fabric holds shape and accepts digital printing. Suede is used for the vests, tops, skirts and dresses. Old garments are draped on a dummy to form new shapes. The bamboo print recalls a Hokkien festival and reminds younger generations not to forget their mother tongue.
Tan Wan Yee's Broken Sovereign Womenswear Collection emerges from contemporary fashion discourse that celebrates the intersection of sculptural form and wearable design, positioning garment construction as an exercise in three-dimensional architecture applied to the human body. The collection demonstrates exceptional technical accomplishment in its manipulation of structured materials, particularly evident in the pristine ivory coat whose rigid neoprene or bonded fabric maintains precise geometric lines while accommodating the dynamic requirements of movement and wear. The designer appears to engage with traditions of Japanese avant-garde fashion pioneered by visionaries who transformed clothing into architectural statements, yet brings a distinctive perspective through the integration of painterly textile surfaces that reference Eastern ink-wash aesthetics. The burgundy cropped bodice provides chromatic warmth and material softness that balances the architectural severity of the outer layer, while the printed skirt transforms gestural mark-making into wearable surface design, suggesting meditation on the relationship between fine art and fashion practice. The ensemble's careful orchestration of proportion, with exaggerated upper volume tapering to a fitted lower silhouette, demonstrates sophisticated understanding of visual balance and the transformation of bodily form through strategic material placement. The styling choices, including the model's precise geometric haircut and dramatic beauty presentation, extend the collection's conceptual framework into a complete aesthetic statement that honors both restraint and bold expression. Viewers might contemplate how contemporary fashion design negotiates between functionality and artistic expression, and how garments can serve as vehicles for cultural commentary on form, femininity, and the boundaries of conventional dress.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- The sovereign’s outfit is inspired by designer personality, transitional Tang Dynasty mix with Malaysian Chinese culture
Malaysia is multiracial country but designer represent Chinese Culture in Malaysia. It is reflect sick society of problem in Malaysia. Nowadays, some young generation of Malaysian Chinese don’t know how to speak Chinese even though they don’t how to write Chinese Name by Themselves. So she telling people, never forget their mother tongue and who they are. - Dimensions & Packaging
- The Whole Collection consist of 5 Looks of Womenswear in size 38.
- Tags
- Malaysia, Fashion Design, Textile, Feminine
- Production Technology
- Recycling and collage idea plus draping technique. Use a old clothes put on dummy to structures and shapes to create a new shape of design.
1. Jacket shape inspired by Tang Dynasty Greeting pose, telling people don't forget their culture & mother tongue.
2.Tang Dynasty costume sleeve mix with trench coat, showing layering represent the constraint of the free liberation.
Neoprene Jacket / Coat
( The fabric will get a great shape , digital print will easy print a graphic on this type on fabric)
Suede Vest/Top/Skirt/Dress
Make a clothes look more elegant. - Design Challenge
- The hard part is the garments shape are too big and length of Jacket are long, it may take a few time to sewing. Beside that, about hand printing and digital printing she tried different type of suede and neoprene to make more outcomes to choose which quality of fabric more suit designer collection.
- Project Duration
- The project finished in March 2016, and it was exhibited and fashion show in Malaysia / Dubai / China Beijing
- Operation Flow
- The collection showing female power and layering feelings. The fabric manipulation ideas develop more innovative structures and shapes to the collection through draping.
- Research
- This Collection of idea is telling designer personality story, who is She. During her childhood, She really love princess stuff, all pink. When She grew up, She fell that reality life isn't like childhood princess story. So designer changed her mind, what kind of story can mix this collection. She research her family background culture, history, her country society problem, bring them mix together and become < Broken Sovereign>
- Inspiration
- Ideas develop more innovative structures and shapes to the collection through draping.The pursuit of perfect silhouette from the East & mixes with Western Outfits to creations evolve from colors to lines, from elegance to grandeur. The bamboo print design & drawn by me represent CHOR 9 BAI TIAN GONG FESTIVAL As Malaysian Chinese Hokkien, this day is important for Hokkien community as during that time, the survivors managed to escaped the village at night and hide themselves among the bamboo.
- Image Credits
- Image #1:COPYRIGHT by The Woman Of Yee,
Photographer, Ryan Chiu / Model, Kate Chan, 2016
Image #2:COPYRIGHT by The Woman Of Yee,
Photographer, Ryan Chiu / Model, Kate Chan, 2016
Image #3:COPYRIGHT by The Woman Of Yee,
Photographer, Ryan Chiu / Model, Kate Chan, 2016
Image #4:COPYRIGHT by The Woman Of Yee,
Photographer, Ryan Chiu / Model, Kate Chan, 2016
Image #5:COPYRIGHT by The Woman Of Yee,
Photographer, Ryan Chiu / Model, Kate Chan, 2016 - Patents
- Copyrights belong to The Woman Of Yee, 2016
Colors of Broken Sovereign Womenswear Collection
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Limited Edition East-West Fusion Womenswear
We create exclusive ready-to-wear collections blending Tang Dynasty elegance with contemporary Malaysian design. Each limited edition piece celebrates feminine power through cultural storytelling, ensuring our clients never encounter another wearing the same design.
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