Porcelain
As we become increasingly intertwined with technology, and AI changes the face of artistry, it is perhaps more important than ever to look to some of the origins of our creativity and embrace heritage craftsmanship. With the reuse of materials continually a feature of new collections, traditional techniques like crochet is brought from the past and reimagined for new generations. Whilst fashion will forever be an innovator and we experiment with technology, there is something that connects us with our natural selves in these hand-applied, tactile approaches, speaking to our humanity without the use of words.
One such artist in the fashion sphere who looks to traditional techniques is Chinese designer Aowei Liang who is a ceramic craftsman and fashion designer hailing from Jingdezhen, a city in the northeastern Jiangxi province of China. Known as the porcelain capital, Jingdezhen has produced ceramics for over 1000 years, and its products were known as the most important and finest quality pieces in China and the home of many skilled craftsmen, including many of Aowei’s family and friends.
After studying fashion, the young designer realised that there was no aesthetic in clothes representative of this type of craftsmanship and these materials. Through his label Liwen Liang, Aowei sought to bring the aesthetics and elements of their lives into fashion, such as the muddy, warm working environment and broken ceramic shards. Aowen takes these fragments and applies them to collections that cleverly piece together broken elements into contemporary designs with a reconstructed look that blends heritage with modernity.
Aowei told us, “I used my ceramic knowledge to carry out experiments for three years. Through repeated ceramic firing, I finally developed a very wearable ceramic fabric. I fire the ceramic into 0.3mm sheets like paper, then compound it on the fabric and grind it, so it is very soft and thin. a ceramic dress weighs as much as a cashmere coat." The results are innovative and breathtaking, a reminder of our very human ingenuity and the beauty that we can create with our hands and without the assistance of technology.
All images courtesy of Liwen Liang
You can find out more about the designer here: Liwen Liang