Photo:courtesy of Zhang Yan

Photo:courtesy of Zhang Yan

Instead of a designer, Zhang Yan, 25, who made his New York fashion week debut in 2019, prefers to call himself a tailor, because in his view, tailoring requires more talent and skill.

"I attained the level of a designer several years ago, but I am still not a tailor yet. I am still working on becoming a brilliant Chinese tailor," he said.

According to Zhang, compared to the foreign ready-made garment industry that mainly focuses on the appearance of clothing, Chinese tailors tend to observe the emotions and mental state of the wearers before designing and tailoring their clothing.

Zhang noted that Chinese clothing culture focuses more on whether clothing can show the wearer's spirit and energy, so tailors need to have rich experience to accurately understand both human beings and clothing.

As a tailor, patience is just as important as talent because it usually takes more than 50 days to complete a single embroidered work, Zhang noted. 

On the way to become an eligible and experienced Chinese tailor, Zhang created embroidery works that earned him an invitation to 2019 New York Fashion Week.

'Like a dream'

"I did not believe it at first when I heard the news I was going to New York Fashion Week until I saw my name on the official website. It was like a dream," the young designer recalled.

It was an opportunity to show off his original works at an international fashion platform and also a type of recognition of his design style and the core concepts of Chinese philosophy.

Zhang says that China's Taoist philosophy is one of his core design concepts. 

"Taoism teaches us to be free and unfettered and avoid the restraints of the trifles of daily life. This is exactly what I want to convey through my clothing."

Zhang said that embroidery has allowed him to slow the pace of his life down and stabilize his mental state. He is now trying to pass this leisurely attitude on to others through his clothing.

Zhang made his first stage appearance at New York Fashion Week with a show titled Fusheng, literally "flowing life." The theme was inspired by a Chinese phrase "flowing life is like a dream," which is in accordance with Taoist thought.

The show featuring glimmering fabrics, intricate embroidery, oriental silhouettes and a dreamlike atmosphere, was about how adults can find their childhood courage. At curtain call, about 100 Chinese children dressed in all kinds of authentic Chinese clothing headed to the front of the state as thumping, clanking music played on.

Zhang said when he heard this traditional Chinese-style music and saw the models wearing his original works, he was deeply touched by the charm of Chinese culture. 

"I almost burst into tears backstage."

Western audiences were also shocked by the exotic charm of this embroidered clothing, praising its feeling as a "mysterious Eastern power."

The show brought foreign audiences together to experience traditional Chinese clothing culture and conveyed Chinese people's life philosophy to them.

"Some of my works combined Western-shapes with Chinese embroidery patterns and captured foreign audiences," Zhang said. 

"After the show, I received lots of orders and did quite well commercially," he said, laughing.

The first show was not perfect. Near the end of the show, a group of child models, who were just 12 to 13 years old, forgot the performance order and took to the stage before they were supposed to. But Zhang said that these types of mistakes are a kind of imperfect beauty, which can reflect the purity and courage of young people.

His next New York tour will begin in September.

Sticking with it

Zhang said that his love of clothing started in middle school. 

Once he watched a fashion show for an international brand on TV and surprisingly found that haute couture was so elegant and splendid that he couldn't look away. It was then and there that he thought about making designing his career. 

However, his parents firmly opposed him taking on what they saw as a "woman's job" which they felt had no future potential. 

"Traditional Chinese culture probably wasn't as accepted at the time," Zhang explained.

Not knowing where to begin, he ended up going to college for stage art. However, he never gave up on his dream. He eventually began learning about different types of embroidery from various artists.

Starting his business without the support of his parents, Zhang spent nearly 3,000 yuan ($422) to rent a house where he would work making traditional clothing like qipao, also known as cheongsam.

"I wanted to give up almost every day at that time due to financial difficulties," he said. 

"But thanks to those who liked and supported my work, I was able to persist until today."

One of those people was the chairman of China's Qipao Association, who ordered 40 sets and paid for everything ahead of time.

With help of these people, Zhang continued to improve his skills. He found inspiration in Chinese ancient books such as the Classic of Mountains and Seas, a Chinese compilation of mythical geography and beasts, and ancient murals such as those at the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Northwest China's Gansu Province.

"My design concepts come from the legendary stories in these ancient books and I learned how to use various clothing colors by looking at the murals from different periods in the Mogao Grottoes."

His experience has helped to break stereotypes about men in needlework and high fashion in China.

Zhang said that he hopes his experience can also inspire teenagers who are still confused about whether they should pursue their dreams. 

"There are many ways to attain success. As long as you try your best, you can make your dreams come true."

Fashion and COVID-19

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic around the world, all fashion shows and activities have been suspended, including New York Fashion Week.

"My work has not been affected too much because last year's orders will not be completed until May, but the entire fashion industry is under attack," Zhang said.

Some haute couture shops have been hit hard by the pandemic because customers need to try on clothes first before purchasing and few factories have resumed work.

Many models have not been able to work since the end of 2019 and have had to turn to other industries.

Zhang said that when the pandemic ends, he will continue to attend more fashion shows and broaden his presence in the international market.

"I will open brick and mortar stores abroad to allow more foreign customers to directly experience Chinese clothing culture."

"If we want to inherit this splendid culture, we have to make people want to wear it," he said.