Fashion Feature Friday: East Meets West

DesignFashion Feature Friday
Written By Sammi Wong

When it comes to Asian fashion and Eastern aesthetics, some things might instantly come to mind. For example, you might think of the colors red and gold. You might think of silk fabric and floral patterns. You might even think of traditional garments like the Chinese qipao, the Korean hanbok, or the Japanese kimono. However, these stereotypes of Asia and Asian culture can limit people's perspectives of what Asian fashion looks like - and what it can be. Today, there is a wide diversity of Asian and Asian-American designers who play a big role in the fashion industry. Their contributions helped shape consumer spending, provide different perspectives, and foster inclusivity. Where exactly did this start, and where are we at now?

THE HISTORY OF ASIA'S INFLUENCE ON THE WEST

The Silk Road

The connection between Asia and Western fashion goes back as far as 2nd millennium BCE. Europeans heavily pursued the manufacturing and trade of Chinese silk during this time, hence the name of the famous network of trading routes, the Silk Road. Historians even uncovered remnants of silk in burial sites in Ancient Rome, Ancient Egypt, and Germany. Europeans also traded for other materials like Chinese jade and hempen cloth. For more information about the Silk Road and how Asia helped shape Western culture through silk, check out this article.

Historians also recovered other types of fabrics that were made in Asia over five to seven thousand years ago. For example, they discovered felted wool used to make hats and blankets. Woven wool, meanwhile, was used to make simple garments and elaborate tapestries. Historians even found twill and brocade silk made up of complex weave patterns. Many of these fabrics also featured colorful dyes and fancy motifs.

Chinoiserie

In the mid-to-late 17th century, the concept of chinoiserie began to flourish. Chinoiserie is the European imitation of Chinese motifs, used in fashion, architecture, and culture. For example, Asian influences can not only be seen in their fabrics, but in things like pottery and wallpaper as well. European royalty and aristocrats especially liked combining chinoiserie and Rococo aesthetics. However, many Europeans during this time did not have an accurate understanding of China or Asia itself. Eventually, Chinese manufacturers began producing chinoiserie themselves, complicating the history of the motif.

Contemporary Inspiration

Nowadays, Asian influences can be seen in many different mediums over many different time periods. However, Chinese aesthetics were especially popular in Western fashion in the 1970s. Interestingly enough, this shift is attributed to the economic and sociopolitical attitudes of the time. Asian fashion became "anti-fashion", meaning it differed from traditional Western values. For an in-depth explanation of "anti-fashion", check out this article.

During the 1970s, outdoor wear, loungewear, and evening gowns often featured Chinese-like fabrics, motifs, and silhouettes. Designers specifically picked up on the Han suit, the cheongsam, and the Mao suit. Fashion houses and designers like Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent created jackets, tunics, and dresses that emulated these traditional garments. To see some examples, please check out the photo gallery.

For commentary on the implications of Western interpretations of Asian culture, check out this article, this article, and this article.

WHAT ASIAN FASHION LOOKS LIKE TODAY

Note: This section is a modified version of my article, How Asian-American Designers Have Impacted the Fashion Industry, on Excuse My Thoughts.

Many Asian-American designers got their start in the 1980s: Vera Wang, Anna Sui, and Vivienne Tam, to name a few. Then, in the early 2000s, several Asian-American men like Phillip Lim, Alexander Wang, and Bibhu Mohapatra started launching their brands. Since then, people like Jason Wu, Prabal Gurung, and Joseph Altuzarra have also become big names.

So, how exactly did the modern rise of Asian-American designers come to be? For some, they went into design because they had family connections to the garment industry. For others, it was the increasing notoriety and reputation of fashion schools, especially in New York. 70% of international students at Parsons's School of Fashion, for example, are from Asia, while 23% of the Fashion Institute of Technology's students are Asian or Asian-American. The legitimacy of these institutions helped some Asian parents feel more comfortable with their children pursuing fashion design instead of something more stereotypical like law or medicine.

However, none of this explains why so many Asian Americans are interested in fashion in the first place. In "The Beautiful Generation: Asian Americans and the Cultural Economy of Fashion", author Thuy Linh Nguyen Tu believes it's tied "to historical patterns of immigration, racial formation, and globalized labor". Phillip Lim suggests it may also be because "Asian culture...places visual aesthetics as a priority". Many cultures in Asia greatly value physical appearance and the sociological concept of "face", especially in China. This includes upholding beauty standards and expectations of etiquette, behavior, and dignity.

Diversity in Fashion

Inclusion and representation in the fashion industry, like many others, still have a long way to go. The prominence of Asian-American designers in the industry has led to their widespread influence going global, as their brands are successful worldwide. In terms of consumer spending power, designers from Asia take up a sizeable portion of the market. Today, of the five-hundred members of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, forty-eight of them are Asian.

However, there is plenty of progress to be made for Asians and other people of colour in fashion to feel seen and heard. With hate crimes, racism, and xenophobia on the rise, it's more important now than ever for Asian representation across all industries. There are many harmful stereotypes out there about what Asian fashion "should" look like. In reality, there is a wide diversity of styles, influences, and aesthetics among Asian designers, just like any other. And finally, as Prabal Gurung once said, "the fashion and media industries have a vital role to play in shifting entrenched cultural attitudes toward the Asian community".

Asian Fashion Designers Today

To see examples of the diversity of Asian voices in fashion today, please check out the photo gallery. For even more examples of Asian and Asian-American designers, here are some of my favorites: Joseph Altuzarra, Yohji Yamamoto, Rei Kawakubo, Anna Sui, Phillip Lim, and Claudia Li.

REFERENCES

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