Iron Fashion, Apparel and Garment Design · 2022
Labyrinthine Journey of a Ballerina Womenswear
by Tingyu Hu
- A' Design Award 2022 Iron Winner in Fashion, Apparel and Garment Design
- Awarded April 15, 2022
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 21,290
- Verification code 871C2D37AE · Verify this award
About Labyrinthine Journey of a Ballerina Womenswear
Labyrinthine Journey of a Ballerina presents the combination of bizarreness and emptiness of surrealism space and the delicacy of the ballerina, using apparel as the medium. The designer constructs the pieces by using bonings to build a 3D illusion, and layering various transparent fabrics are emphasizing the concept of dimension. Crafts like silkscreen and hand-embroidery are widely used in this project. Three points for this collection are illusion, space and shadow, and contrast between structure and softness.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- What would it look like if clothes become the canvas or the carrier of a concept lingering in her mind? Absorbing the bizarreness and emptiness of space from surrealism art and the delicacy of the ballerina, Tingyu treated her garments as 'paintings' while combining the functionality of clothing. Layering and crafts like silkscreen and hand-embroidery are widely used in this project. Three points for this collection are 'illusion', 'space and shadow', and 'contrast between structure and softness'.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- 5 looks in US Size 4.
- Tags
- surrealism, fashion, womenswear, wearable art, storytelling, pratt institute.
- Production Technology
- Tingyu focuses on how dimensional a garment could be while keeping the balance of movement and abstraction. She uses boning to construct a 3D illusion and chooses transparent fabric to increase the layers of the garment so that emphasizes the concept of 'dimension', such as double knit layering, tulle over canvas, and beige lace over pink cotton sateen. About the techniques, crafts are always a major style so she corporates silkscreens and hand-embroidery to add some raw and playful feel to make the contrast with the strict color palette.
- Design Challenge
- To avoid the literal interpretation or similar techniques of 1930s surrealism fashion, Tingyu edited down ideas that were too superficial or easy to look at and balanced the fine art side and the apparel side. This project requires a lot of draping of asymmetrical shapes and experiments of fabric to figure out the best choice for a certain silhouette.
- Project Duration
- The project finished in May 2019 and shoot in 2022.
- Operation Flow
- Tingyu creates a womenswear fashion collection 'A Labyrinthine Journey of a Ballerina' to present the quirkiness and elegance, structure and softness by using textile with the contrast of canvas and tulle, and asymmetrical shape. Inspired by surrealism art and movies and ballet costume.
- Research
- Standing in front of 'The Melancholy of Departure' by De Chirico at MOMA and wondering what does it look like when is a ballerina trying to escape from De Chirico's paintings? How is it possible to add multiple dimensions to garments, like the dream world in 'Blood of a Poet'? By analyzing the geometrical elements in De Chirico's paintings and reading his artist theory, with the whimsical feeling, the little sculpture on the arm, and the contrast between the softness of pale pink and lined silhouette, the narrative is presented through every detail.
- Inspiration
- Giorgio De Chirico, 'Blood of a Poet' and classical ballet are the three major inspirations. By observing works by De Chirico, Tingyu captures the contrast of brightness and shadow, enormous environment and tiny figures, and unlimited extension of the space even she becomes a part of the painting. 'Blood of a Poet' emphasizes the theme of 'labyrinthine'. The dreamlike quirkiness of the movie inspires her to replace the main character with a ballerina.
Everything in this project is the reflection of her vision. - Image Credits
- Photographer: Sha Luo
Designer & Styling: Tingyu Hu
Makeup: Shiyao Liu
Model: PJ
Assistants: Xiang Cheng, Gianna Chun
Special Thanks: 19
Colors of Labyrinthine Journey of a Ballerina Womenswear
Design Interview about Labyrinthine Journey of a Ballerina Womenswear
Giorgio De Chirico, 'Blood of a Poet' and classical ballet are the three major inspirations. By observing works by De Chirico, I capture the contrast of brightness and shadow, enormous environment and tiny figures, and unlimited extension of the space even she becomes a part of the painting. 'Blood of a Poet' emphasizes the theme of 'labyrinthine'. The dreamlike quirkiness of the movie inspires me to replace the main character with a ballerina. Everything in this project is the reflection of my vision.
To avoid the literal interpretation or similar techniques of 1930s surrealism fashion, I edit down ideas that are too superficial or easy to look at and balance the fine art side and the apparel side. In this project, I experiment with a lot of draping of asymmetrical shapes and tests of fabric to figure out the best choice for a certain silhouette.
De Chirico has been one of my favorite artists since the first time I saw his work in a book during high school, his unique style with the contrast between enormous space and tiny figures haunts my brain. And when I was watching 'The Red Shoes', the 'damsel in distress' vibe gives me the inspiration that I want to put the ballerina figure into the enormous space. The eerie atmosphere and the pure beauty create an interesting chemical, and these visions keep stuck in my mind that I need to bring it to the real world.
As I mentioned, I looked up many 1930s surrealism fashions by Elsa Schiaparelli and Coco Chanel, and Mugler's works in the 80s and 90s. They are straightforward and relatively literal speaking of the idea of surrealism. But I want to do something more like a ready-to-wear piece, so I try to avoid making it too 'literal'. I also researched many surrealism photos of 1930s and realized the dramatic lighting and styling ideas. These influenced me a lot when I am preparing for the photoshoot.
Standing in front of 'The Melancholy of Departure' by De Chirico at MOMA and wondering what does it look like when is a ballerina trying to escape from De Chirico's paintings? And thinking of how is it possible to add multiple dimensions to garments, like the dream world in 'Blood of a Poet'? By analyzing the geometrical elements in De Chirico's paintings and reading his artist theory, with the whimsical feeling, the little sculpture on the arm, and the contrast between the softness of pale pink and lined silhouette, my narrative is presented through every detail.
I focus on how dimensional a garment could be while keeping the balance of movement and abstraction. I use bonings to construct a 3D illusion and choose transparent fabric to increase the layers of the garment so that emphasizes the concept of 'dimension';, such as double knit layering, tulle over canvas, and beige lace over pink cotton sateen. About the techniques, crafts are always a major style so I combine silkscreens and hand-embroidery to add some raw and playful feel to make the contrast with the strict color palette. There is a piece of a canvas short skirt, when you look at it on the profile, there is a 3D triangle shape, and on the skirt, it is a 12-hour hand embroidery of all the embellishments, which is one of my favorite in this collection.
My friend Ziyi Li introduces me to my photographer Sha Luo, and we communicated a lot about details for the photoshoot. I do not know a lot about lighting, so she researched it well. And since we are on a budget, finally we agreed that setting up installations is not realistic for us, so we retouched the photos to make the idea of 'multi-dimension' came true. I am responsible for the styling, and Sha helped me to find the make-up artist (Shiyao Liu), model (PJ), and assistants (Gianna Chun and Xiang Cheng). It was a very pleasant photoshoot and everything goes fluently we even finish it before the estimated time, which is the first time in my life.
To push myself out of the boundary. I used to worry about if the garment is too crafty, too like costume that did not perfectly balance with functionality, or over-designed. But in this process, I realized sometimes it is important to forget about the rules others tell me and switch to a subconscious mode and release my thoughts. And it was the first time I draped something with a lot of tiny 3D details, so I struggled with pattern making and thinking about the finishing inside. Now I looked back there is still something I am not 100% satisfied with, but it was a phase in which I challenged myself, which is vital for a designer to grow.