Fashion designer, integrating Chinese culture into the age

At 17:00 on May 18, 1991, “Marvelous China—The Grand Performance of Chinese Fashion Designs of Hu Xiaodan” jointly conducted by Cultural Exchange Center of China Television Artists Association and Sino-French joint venture Balishi Cosmetics Co., Ltd. was launched in luxuriously decorated exhibition hall of China International Trade Centre. It is the largest Chinese fashion show up to now. 58 famous models from Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, including Peng Li, Gao Jie, Zhang Jihong and others, displayed about 400 garments designed by Hu Xiaodan during the performance more than one hour. This performance was favorably popular among the public and praised by press circle. Also, Journal of Literature and Art, China Daily, Oriental Outlook and other journals made reports one after another. Before this performance, Hu Xiaodan has succeeded in conducting several personal fashion shows in China Fashion Week 1989 and Shandong Weifang Kite Festival. Now, Hu Xiaodan has ever-increasingly attracted public attention of Chinese and international fashion circle. 

Hu Xiaodan’s great influence is totally determined by his garment features. He has own unique understanding for Chinese fashion. Hu Xiaodan believes that “Chinese fashion shall reflect Chinese national spirit. Fashion is not only necessity of daily life but also gives expression to culture, art and national spirit. In terms of fashion design, “ethnic style” is not equal to “rustic”. Decorations equipped with fewer elements of minority would not become nationalization. Ancient and appealing elements of Chinese culture shall be a part of modern fashionable dress”. This can be regarded as general conclusion of artistic conception when Hu Xiaodan designs fashionable dress. His artistic conception is fully presented through design. Appreciating his fashion show, you will be overwhelmed by strong ethnic style, instead of rustic style. Hu Xiaodan is hailed as the first person to comprehensively inherit and refer to shell fabric, style, color, process and others of traditional garment, and harmoniously integrate them into modern aesthetics. All shell fabric is Chinese silk and process is traditional anglicanum. Both color and pattern of garment are filled with Chinese elements. Such patterns as dragon walking on air, phoenix dancing trippingly, mandarin ducks in romance, red-crowned crane spreading wings, plum blossoms, orchid, bamboo, chrysanthemum, Chinese herbaceous peony, peony and others will inspire his designs. When inheriting traditional garment, Hu Xiaodan never applies it mechanically. On the contrary, he takes in artistic essence and incorporates current development trend of fashionable dress and modern aesthetic psychology. Apart from aristocratic dignity and elegance of traditional garment, his design seems natural and unrestrained and highlights peculiarity. His bold and ingenuous artistic conception is amazing. Facial makeup of traditional Chinese opera is also incorporated into fashionable dress. Besides, the most fashionable style—“mini garment” is taken. As ancient culture and modern style are integrated, a sense of novelty and familiarity is presented. Just because of above-mentioned features, Hu Xiaodan is greatly different from others and owns his distinctive style. 

  Hu Xiaodan’s perfect integration between ancient culture of Chinese nation and modern significance, to a large extent, is mainly based on “bridge” of traditional garment culture and modern fashionable dress, which is dominated by his educational background and personal temper. Hu Lianling, father of Hu Xiaodan, was senior art editor of China Theatre Press before retirement. When was young, Hu Xiaodan learned painting from his father. In 1978, he was admitted to Choreography School of The Central Academy Of Drama. In 1982, he was assigned to China Opera and Dance Drama Theatre and took responsible for scene layout and clothes of several dramas including Waste Land and Palace of Eternal Life. Affected by work, he was skilled in traditional garment and occupied greater advantages in inheriting culture of traditional garment. With regard to thoughts and feelings, he is obsessed with Chinese traditional culture. On July 20, an article from Journal of Literature and Art written by Qi Cai pointed out, the public was confident in taking ancient Chinese traditional art as a member of international fashionable dress community gracefully after viewing Hu Xiaodan’s fashion design. Someone believed that Hu Xiaodan is “Pierre Cardin of China”, but he doesn’t think so. Hu Xiaodan clearly knows that there is a long and arduous way to go before he becomes an internationally renowned designer. He is just 33 years old. As long as he has courage to bring forth new ideas and go beyond himself, his prospect would be promising.   Top China, Volume 36