Reinterpretation Of Changshan Garment by Tong Tong is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2024 Bronze A' Design Award in Fashion, Apparel and Garment Design Competition Category.
BronzeFashion· 2024
Reinterpretation Of Changshan Garment
by Tong Tong
Bronze A' Design Award Winner in Fashion Category
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #159036The Design
About Reinterpretation Of Changshan Garment
The design honors the timeless elegance of the Changshan, a revered traditional Chinese menswear garment. Evoking its refined silhouette, this reinterpretation seamlessly blends heritage with innovation. Vertical seams and discreetly integrated pockets enhance functionality while maintaining modesty. Crafted from high twist wool twill, it offers structural support and a wrinkle free appearance. Through meticulous tailoring methods, the challenge of reimagining the neckline is overcome while ensuring both smooth curves and structural integrity.
The Recognition
About the Bronze A' Design Award
Reinterpretation Of Changshan Garment is a Bronze A' Design Award winner, a highly prestigious recognition granted to outstanding designs distinguished by creativity, ingenuity, and astuteness. Bronze winners are amply skillful and strikingly creative artifacts that authenticate the vast experience, imagination, and resourcefulness of their designers. Reinterpretation Of Changshan Garment is expected to be a highly regarded, admired, and cherished object that is notably professional and innovative. This Bronze A' Design Award-winning design incorporates best practices in art, science, design, and technology, and is excellent for its attention to detail. Reinterpretation Of Changshan Garment splendidly satisfies needs, touches desires, charms feelings, and appeals to curiosity.
Interviews
Design Interview
What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?
The main principle, idea, and inspiration behind my design is to innovate and modernize the iconic Changshan garment while honoring its timeless elegance and historical significance. Drawing inspiration from its lean yet elegant silhouette and traditional features such as the Mandarin collar and overlapping front opening, I aimed to harmonize tradition with modernity in my reinterpretation.
What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
My main focus in designing this work was to achieve a seamless blend of heritage and innovation. I sought to preserve the overall minimal and elongated silhouette of the Changshan while introducing innovative tailoring methods and functional elements to enhance its versatility and wearability. Specifically, I aimed to achieve a design that seamlessly integrates vertical seams for volume control, discreetly integrated pockets, and a modified front opening for easier access, all while ensuring structural integrity and maintaining the garment's modest appearance.
What are your future plans for this award winning design?
Winning this award has given me the confidence to pursue small-batch production for this design. My plan is to perfect the design further, ensuring it is suitable for production, and ultimately transform it into a ready-to-wear piece. I'm excited about the opportunity to bring this design to life and share it with a broader audience.
Behind the Design
Press Kit
Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.
- Unique Properties
- While striving to preserve its overall minimal and elongated silhouette, I endeavor to innovate this historical wardrobe classic through various tailoring methods, achieving a design that harmonizes tradition with modernity. Vertical seams were introduced to control volume, seamlessly blending the original stand collar into one piece with the body panels and discreetly incorporating in-seam pockets. Instead of the traditional side slash, inverted pleats were added to the side seams to enhance mobility while maintaining a modest appearance. Additionally, compared to the original, the overlapping front opening was shortened more towards the center with a slightly slanted curve for easier access.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Full-body Length
- Tags
- Fashion, Clothing Design, Cultural Heritage, Chinese Traditional Culture, Tailoring
- Production Technology
- A high-twist wool twill for this project was chosen due to its springy nature. It creates an ideal structural support for the garment, as well as a wrinkle-free character which contributes to the smooth and minimal image of traditional Changshan.
- Design Challenge
- The primary challenge in realizing this design lay in the neck area. With the traditional neckline replaced by a series of vertical seams from the body panels, achieving the correct collar shape proved difficult initially. To address this, multiple trial iterations were conducted to refine the patterns for utmost accuracy. Following fabric cutting, the neck area underwent molding under steam and iron to create the smooth curve of the collar. Additionally, hymo was pad-stitched to provide sufficient structural support for the garment.
- Research
- Extensive historical and visual research was conducted to facilitate the creation of this design. To gain a deeper understanding of the historical context and the original design of the Changshan, historical photographs and documentaries were reviewed via digital databases, such as the BIFT Museum.
- Inspiration
- This design draws inspiration from the iconic Changshan, a traditional Chinese menswear garment.With its lean yet elegant silhouette, the Changshan was a wardrobe staple for men during the Republic of China era(1912-1949). Its floor-sweeping body, dolman sleeves, Mandarin collar, and overlapping front opening made it a symbol of social status and literacy.
- Project Duration
- This Garment was designed in December 2021 and finished in the beginning of January 2022 in Chicago.
- Operation Flow
- The garment is designed to be worn as a coat.
- Team Members
- Tong Tong
- Image Credits
- Image #1-5 Photographer：Yuxian He, 2023
Image #1-5 Model: Junxian Ouyang, 2023
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