From the streets of Taipei to the catwalks of New York City, Taiwan fashion designers are taking the world by storm.
Opening night of the 2017 Taipei IN Style fashion show was a haute couture extravaganza. On Nov. 15 and for the four days that followed, men, women and children sporting the latest styles paraded up and down the runway, their garments fashioned from intriguing fabrics. Standouts at the event came from designers like Wang Li-ling (汪俐伶), whose pieces featured photosensitive patterns inspired by images from the Chinese zodiac like monkeys and tigers that could only be seen when the light was just right.
The annual event, organized by the government-supported Taiwan Textile Federation (TTF) to promote the local fashion industry, was held alongside the Taiwan Fashion Design Awards (TFDA), a competition for budding talents both domestic and foreign. The latest edition involved 468 hopefuls from 21 countries and territories, with first place and a cash prize of US$10,000 going to Taiwan designer Peng Po-shou (彭柏碩). TFDA judges praised Peng’s work as “exemplary in its inventiveness in fabric choice and pattern structure, as well as outstanding in its fine balance between commercial appeal and artistic integrity.”
Similar real-world practicality and careful selection of textiles also characterize the designs of Wang, who like Peng graduated from the Department of Fashion Design at Shih Chien University in Taipei City. “I studied the use of varied fabrics in combination with photosensitive and other light-related technologies,” Wang said, adding that she pursued the same subject matter in her subsequent studies at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design at the University of the Arts London. In 2014, she founded Darklight Design Studio in Taipei, contributing her creations to the dazzling opening ceremony of the Summer Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, mainland China, later that same year. She has since continued developing her studio, quickly building a reputation for her self-named brand across the Taiwan Strait.
Designs from Wang’s 2016 collection The Gestures of Water (Photos courtesy of Darklight Design Studio)
Local Designs Go Global
Wang’s collection The Gestures of Water was featured at New York Fashion Week (NYFW) in February 2016. Her use of photoelectric or photosensitive textiles with motifs from traditional Chinese culture attracted international attention, and an invitation was soon extended for her to attend the next year’s NYFW. Wang continued to utilize her “Chinese style with a high-tech feel,” as she described it, in her 2017 collection Tantalizing Haze / Knotism Vernacular, which featured innovative knotting patterns and depictions of zodiac animals. Major inspiration for the clothing line, she noted, came from the dreamlike misty scenes that she witnessed during a visit to Turtle Island off the shores of northeastern Taiwan’s Yilan County. Wang said that she is now looking toward Europe, where the industry “shows greater attention to detail and prefers elaborate handiwork.”
Justin Chou (周裕穎), another prominent local designer who has taken part in NYFW, earned his master’s in fashion from the Domus Academy in Milan. The owner of Just In Case Design Studio, established in 2007, graduated from New Taipei City-based Fu Jen Catholic University’s Department of Textiles and Clothing, which ranks alongside Shih Chien University as one of the top local institutions of its kind. Before taking part in his first NYFW show in 2016, he garnered two consecutive first prizes at the annual Fashion in Taipei competition. The event, launched in 2013 by Taipei City Government’s Office of Commerce, is a major platform for talented Taiwan designers to expand their domestic and international influence.
The Just In Case brand, in the vein of designs by contemporaries like Wang, focuses on integrating elements of local culture. For instance, symbols inspired by folk temple festivities were arranged in traditional Taiwan embroidery patterns for his collection Punk the Empire, presented during NYFW in 2016. Chou’s works were showcased alongside those of five other local designers and homegrown brands, all of which went on display to the public in the second half of 2017 at the Office of the President in Taipei.
Justin Chou’s 2017 New York Fashion Week show features images from collections at the National Museum of History in Taipei. (Photo courtesy of Just In Case Design Studio; designed by Lin Chian-ru)
Modern Interpretations
Most recently, Chou teamed up with National Palace Museum (NPM), based in Taipei, on a line of clothing inspired by from images found in the institution’s enormous collections of precious artifacts such as works by Giuseppe Castiglione, an Italian missionary and painter widely known by the Chinese name Lang Shi-ning (郎世寧) who was active throughout the early to mid-1700s. “It was a move to make NPM youthful, international and fashionable,” Chou said when speaking of the designs, which he exhibited during his 2018 NYFW show in February.
More often than not, he noted, when Taiwan designers want to highlight local values, they tend to infuse traditional Chinese elements to produce a graceful, aristocratic feel. “Yet, in my sports or streetwear style,” Chou said, “I seek to merge the traditional with the contemporary while also presenting the conflict between Eastern and Western cultures.” He added that he is more than happy to tap the rich heritage close at hand in Taiwan. “It’s a phenomenal advantage and resource for local designers and artists.”
Notably, Chou showcases the cultural influences of his home country not simply by presenting them in his designs but by incorporating them in the overall presentation of his shows. For him, in addition to glitzy models wearing striking designs, the glamour of the catwalk lies in its dramatic nature, achieved through a combination of theatrical elements such as music, lighting and staging. His NYFW show last year, for example, featured songs by Taiwan pop singers and a performance by a local rock band playing modern takes on Taiwan folk music. He suggested that the nation continue to develop its own fashion events, which “can be part of a package to promote local tourism.”
Chou’s collection Punk the Empire presents symbols inspired by Taiwan temple festivities. (Photos courtesy of Just In Case Design Studio)
Chou said he likes to think of himself more as a creator than a designer. In addition to fashioning trendy threads, he aims to expand his horizons to include making music and writing novels. He said that, contrary to popular opinion, the fashion industry is not just about luxury and sales, but rather the supportive energies that bind society together.
According to Wang, one of Taiwan’s great strengths is its textiles manufacturing industry, which she said has been instrumental in helping build her brand. “Local companies are happy to see their products transformed into beautiful things,” she said about her ongoing cooperation with several local fabric-makers.
With its strong manufacturing base, Taiwan’s textiles industry is undergoing restructuring efforts “geared toward the development of added-value products supported by innovative fashion designs,” Wang said. These changes are being made in tandem with a resurgence in local designers, with talents such as Chou, Peng and Wang leading the way and playing a crucial role in developing the nation’s high-end fashion industry.
Write to Pat Gao at cjkao@mofa.gov.tw