A very special fashion show was held in London on Sept 1, to mark the 45th anniversary of United Kingdom-China diplomatic relations.
The show, named Weaving a Dream, deeply impressed the audience because of the remarkable ethnic features it displayed, which are typical of Guizhou.
The show was co-hosted by Eve Group's China Workshop and B&H, a creative fashion platform aimed at improving the lives of Chinese women in remote regions by supporting the production of their handicraft.
It featured a fusion of Western fashion and Eastern motifs inspired by traditional Bouyei ethnic embroidery made by seamstresses from Guizhou province.
"We saw a wonderful show tonight and learnt how exquisite the Bouyei embroidery is," said Caroline Rush, president of the British Fashion Council.
"It was a successful show for seamstresses from the mountainous areas of Guizhou to showcase their embroidery to the world," said Liu Xiaoming, China's ambassador to the UK.
Bouyei embroidery is an important part of Chinese intangible cultural heritage. Its appearance on the fashion stage of London was the fruit of joint efforts between Xia Hua, chairwoman of Chinese fashion company Eve Group and seamstresses in southwestern Guizhou.
Fifteen years ago, when Xia first came to southwest Guizhou, she was fascinated by the variety of exquisite embroidery works made by local seamstresses.
After extensive investigations, she found that the motifs of the works were unique and had great potential to enter the international market.
With the help of Qianxinan's government, the Eve workshop was established in Ceheng county, to explore a new way of protecting and developing local cultural heritage, and for poverty alleviation.
In southwest Guizhou, about 75 percent of the residents in Ceheng are Bouyei ethnic people. Bouyei embroidery has a long history there. However, many seamstresses cannot rely on embroidery to make a living. They have no choice but to leave to work in the bigger cities.
"I've been working in Guangdong province for 18 years," said Liang Xiaoyan, a seamstress in Ceheng.
"On hearing that an embroidery workshop was being built in my hometown, I came back as soon as I could."
Wei Shuzhang is an outstanding inheritor of the traditional embroidery skills in Wangmo county. She said one piece of her embroidery work was bought by a Shanghai merchant for 11,600 yuan, which took her nine months to finish.
She is currently a master seamstress at an Eve workshop and was invited to the Weaving a Dream fashion show.
"With designs by the workshop, our works can sell at better prices," said Wei.
Eve Group's Xia Hua said she had big plans.
"We plan to set up 100 workshops in Guizhou within three to five years and make sure that there are enough orders for each workshop, so that the workers can have higher incomes than before," she said.
With the growing popularity of Bouyei embroidery, the Eve workshops will partner up with local governments and well-known companies internationally to develop tours exploring embroidery culture.
These are expected to help with poverty alleviation and the protection and inheritance process of Guizhou's intangible cultural heritage.
Dong Xianwu contributed to the story
(China Daily 10/20/2017 page12)
