Uncovering stories

Reinterpreting the classics in a modern way is no easy feat.

"It needs wholehearted dedication to truly experience, understand, and uncover the stories behind the heritage — conducting field visits, engaging with local artisans, and looking for an appropriate way to present these cultural elements to the global market," Zhao once told the Chinese edition of a US fashion magazine.

During the development of the new seasonal collections, Zhao's team and co-workers spent two years in Guizhou, immersing themselves in Miao history.

Along with the runway show, a workshop that combines Miao embroidery with art therapy captured a lot of attention. Miao embroidery inheritors Long Luying and Long Ting, along with Chinese artist Yuan Yuan and Le Sciure, a Milan-based social welfare group for elderly women, wove red threads onto fragments of ancient Chinese ceramics.

Broken pieces were given new life as they were transformed into artworks that embody collective memories and hope.

"It is the moment when fashion brings us together," says Zhao.

The project is another attempt led by Zhao's Hui Foundation, which was founded in 2016 to support Chinese folk artisans in overcoming poverty and promoting handed-down craftsmanship.

All efforts have been made to revitalize time-honored traditions, says Zhao.

"As a designer from China, I think about the origin of my designs. It's rooted in my culture and I think this culture is more about inheritance," Zhao says. "The aesthetics of intangible cultural heritage are not mere historical relics but a language of the future."

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