Fashion art turns rags into urban apparel

Key Sook Geum's Harmony and Cofflicts/Photo provided by Key Sook Geum

Eco-friendly dress for Beijing

Any designer who spends too much of his spring in Beijing probably has a few ideas for how people could dress to better protect themselves from the sandstorms.

Austrian designer Sissy Pink prefers durable, biodynamic materials. Beijing faces the same challenges as other metropolises on the road to megalopolis, and its economic growth and personal prosperity teeter back and forth barely in balance with the environment.

Kong Fanfan's Thorn/Photo provided by Kong Fanfan

“For Beijingers, I would suggest clothes made out of linen, cotton and silk with ‘veins’ of water, embroidered as sun catchers. Wide sleeves would catch the wind to keep people warm when it’s cool and cool when it’s warm,” Pink says.

“Environmentally-friendly clothes should be made of natural fibers that can be easily classified and naturally broken down to animal or plant food, or into high-quality raw materials for industrial production,” says Xiao Yingxian, an instructor at China Academy of Art.

Protective clothes made from organic cotton and cereal fibers and which are sandstorm-proof and humidity-proof would be a hit on the local market, he says.

“The key to making such clothes is to use eco-friendly materials which can reduce the emission of harmful gases and wastes during production and recycling,” Chen Jing, one of the exhibitors, says.

Beijingers may also need garments that can work as air purifiers.

“I remember the world-renowned fashion artist Hussein Chalayan made a coat with a yarn hood that automatically covered the head whenever a sandstorm started. Something like that might be ideal for spring in Beijing,” Yuan Yan, one of the exhibitors, says.

Lü Yue, the curator, said clothes that save energy are the essence of environmentally-friendly dress. Clothes have to be energy efficient in both production and wear. Her black-and-white vest made of bulbs is called “Yin and Yang, Day and Night,” a name meant to suggest the alarming pollution and electricity waste the city now faces.

“For Beijingers, because of the dusty air and the sandstorms, they need clothes made of dust-proof material that can stay clean without frequent washing,” Lü says.

Sissy Pink's Water/Photo provided by Sissy Pink