Fashion re-invents itself from time to time, with somemodern touches fashion breathes from its age old roots. Culture and fashionhave a strong connection and both keep influencing each other making it twosides of the same coin which is used everyday. Fashion designers are usingmixture of traditional and modern techniques, ideas and views to create newtrends. The fusion of old and new helps sets new trends. China is an age old country with strong history and cultural values which their fashionclearly connotes, for example age old motifs such as guardian deities, lionsand masks of Chinese opera characters.
Xia and Shang Dynasties embarked the dress system in China which enthused the distinctions as to color, design and adornment of dress among theemperor, officials and the common people. During the Sui and Tang dynasty theunity of ancient China and the prosperity of economy provoked a revolution inideas, thought process with the dresses becoming more and more splendid.
An outstanding characteristic of traditional Chineseclothing is not only an external expression of elegance but it encompasses aninternal symbolism. Today, Fashion designers use a mixture of traditional andmodern ideas to create new fashions. Some of the examples which shows influenceof Chinese culture on modern fashion includes modern bridal tiara based on thedesigns from Sung dynasty and the Hunan Province style of embroidered sash madein the traditional colors of pure red, blue, and green. From these examples, itcan be seen how traditional Chinese dress is the foundation of modern fashion. Chinesebronze is another source of printed, woven, embroidered, and applied design forclothes. Some of the distinctive designs include dragons, phoenixes, clouds,and lightning. Motifs from traditional Chinese painting also end up in woven or printed fashion designs.
There is no uniformity of information as far as the maindress of china is concerned, different dynasties brought in new forms andreforms. Different experts claim different dresses as the main dress of china.However the three main types of Chinese clothing include Pienfu, the Chang-paoand the Shen-i. The peinfu is a two piece traditional ceremonial costumesimilar to a tunic top extending to the knees along with a skirt or trousersextending to the ankles. The Chang-pao is a one-piece garment extending fromthe shoulders all the way to the heels, whereas a cross between the two is theshen-i type. Shen-I consists of a tunic and a skirt or trousers like thepien-fu, but the tunic and the skirt are sewed together and essentially onepiece like the ch'ang-p'ao. Out of all the three types Shen- I was the mostwidely used type.
Chinese clothing and current fashion
One of the Chinese dresses getting attention from thefashion community is the cheongsam. Cheongsam is a female dress withdistinctive Chinese features. The actual meaning of the word cheongsam is a longdress whereas the dress is also known by the name of gipao. There is along history behind the name and the dress itself. It is believed that when theearly Manchu rulers came to China they started calling a group of them asbanner people (giren). The Manchu women wore one piece Chinese dress known asgipao or banner dress. In spite of political changes the dress survived andlater went on to become traditional dress of the Chinese women. Cheongsam hashigh collar which is closed with sleeves which can be short, medium or longdepending on the season and taste. The dress is buttoned on the right side witha loose chest, fitting waist and slits up from the sides which aids inaccentuating the female shape. The dress is easy to slip on and comfortable towear. The basic designing of the dress is very simple and it does not require manyaccessories to go with it.
The dress transforms itself into different piece altogetherwith different materials with varying lengths. They can be worn on casual orformal occasions. The overall impression the dress creates is of elegance andcharm. Due to its simple cuts and stylish silhouettes the dress is admired bywomen all over the world. The word cheongsam is used for male and female dressboth.
Today the cheongsam is used as uniforms in many airlines in China, Thailand and Singapore. They are mostly made of rubber or silk with plain color, bottom three
fourth down to the upper legs with a body fitting wool suit of the same color
of cheongsam. Few primary schools in Hong Kong have cheongsam as their uniform.
Colors
Traditional Chinese clothing preferred darker hues over lighter shades. During the ceremonies or functions people generally preferred wearing darker colors enhanced with elaborated embroidered or woven tapestry designs rendered in bright colors. For every day clothes, lighter tones were used. Colors were used as symbolism of seasons, green color was used as symbolism of spring season, red for summer, white for autumn and black for winter. Chinese designers and culture had performed thought provoking analysis to develop a system of matching, coordinating and contrasting colors and shades of light and dark in apparel.
Over the years traditions have influenced our modern day wear and Chinese civilization keeps leaving the footprints of its culture time and again.
References
2) http://library.thinkquest.org
5) www.chinatownconnection.com
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