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在线翻译:
szdaily -> Culture -> 
Exhibition dissects fashion’s relationship with nature
    2020-12-22  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

Cao Zhen

caozhen0806@126.com

FROM a 1760s London mantua to a Calvin Klein dress worn by Emma Watson at the 2016 Met Gala, the new exhibition at the Sea World Culture and Arts Center is a visual feast for fashionistas. But it’s definitely not just a garment show for you to get lost in, but also takes you on a journey of fashion through the centuries that has both drawn inspiration from and plundered the natural world.

Co-organized by Design Society in Shenzhen, the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in Britain and the China National Silk Museum in Hangzhou, the V&A exhibition “Fashioned From Nature,” together with a special Chinese section, “Fashioned From Nature in China: Then and Now,” presents nearly 400 garments and accessories going back centuries.

Exhibits are drawn from the V&A’s and the China National Silk Museum’s extensive collections as well as international loans. The V&A in London holds Britain’s national collection of textiles and fashion and has one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of dress in the world. The China National Silk Museum is the world’s largest museum featuring silk.

Curated by Edwina Ehrman with support from Connie Karol Burks, the V&A exhibition was originally shown in London in 2018 and 2019. The Chinese section, guest-curated by Edith Cheung Sai May, spotlights the extensive history and contemporary innovation of Chinese fashion and textiles.

“The whole exhibition offers an unprecedented journey through Eastern and Western fashion and textile history, vividly telling stories of generations of crafts persons, designers and manufacturers. The natural world has always provided rich inspiration for fashion, and this has been manifested and interpreted in different ways across time, geography and cultures,” said Zhao Rong, deputy director of Design Society. “But the exhibition also highlights the harmful effects of certain fashion trends on the natural environment, so it aims to inspire fashion makers and share approaches to sustainable lifestyles with a wider public,” she added.

Spanning 400 years, the V&A exhibition includes items such as a 17th-century hat made from beaver fur, an 1860s cotton dress decorated with over 5,000 beetle wings and a 2017 Gucci handbag decorated with animal designs. Walking in the exhibition hall which is installed with several retro domes, visitors will not only get to admire an array of delicately fabricated garments with designs inspired by nature, but also will get to see humans’ voracious exploitation of animals, plants and natural resources. An audio recording of bird songs can be heard in the exhibition hall along with the noise of humans using machines that are devastating the planet, reminding visitors of the origins of these beautiful garments.

Several sections of the exhibition highlight designs by Vivienne Westwood and Katherine Hamnett to protest against the damaging practices of the fashion industry and efforts by designers in the 20th and 21st centuries in exploring materials and processes to reduce fashion’s negative impact.

If you think actress Emma Watson’s Calvin Klein dress at the exhibition is simply a stylish gown, you are wrong. According to the “Harry Potter” actress’ earlier interview, every part of the gown was produced with sustainability in mind — from the use of a yarn made from post-consumer plastic bottles to the zippers fashioned from recycled materials. Different layers were even designed so that separate components could be worn again in different ways.

And among Stella McCartney’s exhibits, a woman’s outfit is made from viscose using wood pulp from certified sustainably managed forests in Sweden. A man’s outfit includes recycled nylon and cashmere regenerated from pre-consumer manufacturing waste.

McCartney has been a pioneer of sustainable and animal-free fashion since launching her label in 2001. She has partnered with numerous manufacturers and initiatives to develop innovative materials with reduced environmental impact. In 2017, she teamed up with Bolt Threads to launch the first fashion collection using the new bio-engineered fabric.

Multiple global fashion brands including Dior, Gucci and Burberry and exquisite garments and accessories by Alexander McQueen, Roberto Cavalli, Dries van Noten, Vivienne Tam and William Tang are also featured at the exhibition, showing how fashionable dress continually draws on the beauty and power of nature for inspiration.

The Chinese section of the exhibition retraces nature in historic textiles and costumes. Through materials, dyes and patterns, it looks at the ancient natural world through the 21st century to reflect on the relationship between fashion and nature.

“The rapid economic boom in China has reenergized the fashion industry. One eye is looking at the latest trends from overseas; the other eye is examining local trends inspired by China’s rich history. Reviving forgotten textile fibers and weaving crafts is part of the new sustainable lifestyle,” said Cheung, guest curator of the section.

Dates: Until June 6, 2021

Hours: 10 a.m.-7 p.m. (Mon.-Fri.), 10 a.m.-9 p.m. (Sat.-Sun.)

Tickets: 98 yuan (49 yuan for seniors over 60 years old, students and teachers; free for children younger than 6 years old)

Venue: Main Gallery, Sea World Culture and Arts Center, Nanshan District (南山区海上世界文化艺术中心主展馆)

Metro: Line 2 to Sea World Station (海上世界站), Exit A

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