Design Element: Beautiful Crown, Gorgeous Color, Exquisite Pattern

Originated in the Spring and Autumn Period, it was formed in the Song Dynasty. Later generations will always talk about brocade in the Song Dynasty, hence the name "Song Brocade". It has been handed down as the "crown of beauty".

Song brocade is one of the three famous brocades in China. It is thin and smooth, with soft twill weave luster, beautiful, simple and elegant style. It has been favored by scholars since ancient times, and has the beauty of "living colors and fragrance".

Song brocade is one of the traditional silk handicrafts of the Han nationality in China. It began at the end of the Song Dynasty (about the 11th century AD). Its origin is mainly in Suzhou, so it is also called "Suzhou Song Brocade". The Song brocade is gorgeous in color, exquisite in design, and firm and soft in texture, which has been given the "crown of beauty" in China. In 2006, Song brocade was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists. In September 2009, UNESCO added Song Brocade to the World Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Aesthetics is called the "Renaissance of the East". Under the influence of social humanities and arts, the literati and officials in the Song Dynasty generally pursued elegant and reclusive life, and the elegant tone quietly unfolded in the details of daily life.

The brocade weaving is exquisite, elegant in artistic style, and has the elegant style and characteristics since the Song Dynasty.

The production process of Song brocade is relatively complicated, and the main feature is that the warp and weft lines are displayed at the same time. In terms of pattern organization, it is precise and delicate, firm and soft in texture, plain and neat, and full of antiquity.

Pure natural dyes shall be used for dyeing. The silk shall be dyed according to the needs of patterns before entering the weaving process. The selection of dyes is extremely strict. Most of them are grass and wood dyes, and some mineral dyes are all hand dyed.

In 2014, leaders of APEC countries made a stunning appearance in the "Song Jinhua Costume with Seawater and River Cliff Pattern". On the whole, this series of clothes is magnificent and has a strong sense of ceremony, which expresses the hospitality of the Chinese people and is welcomed by leaders of all countries.

Chuyan, the chief designer of APEC male leaders' clothing design, said This time, APEC leaders' clothing is a new Chinese style image integrating ancient innovation, and it is appropriate to call it "new Chinese clothing".

Chinese design elements are adopted from the style and details. Raglan sleeves in the "Yellow Emperor" period, open lapels in the Song and Tang dynasties, as well as standing collars, plackets, and turnbuckles in the Qing Dynasty, are refined and integrated Chinese style design. At the same time, the cutting method of combining Chinese and Western styles is also adopted.

In terms of fabric, Song brocade, which has the reputation of "the crown of beauty", is used. It is gorgeous in color, exquisite in design, beautiful but not dazzling, expensive but not obvious, low-key and restrained; The classic design of "sea water, river and cliff pattern" is adopted in the design, which endows the 21 economies of APEC with a beautiful implication of landscape dependence and protection.

On September 5, 2022, Shangjiukai · Bianhuizhong 2023 advanced customization new series "Inaction" conference landed at China International Fashion Week. Taking Zhuang Zi's "inaction" approach, it presents the world intangible cultural heritage "Song Brocade", a poetic expression in the new era.

Shangjiukai, originated in the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (the 15th year of Emperor Guangxu's reign, 1889 A.D.), formerly known as Suzhou Shangjiukan Silk and Satin Shop, was a manufacturer of Song brocade used by the royal family during the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty. Now, it is engaged in the salvage development of "Song brocade, the world's intangible cultural heritage", and founded the "Chinese Song brocade product development and application base". "Shangjiukai" Song brocade silk products, because of their exquisite and fashionable production design, often appear in the list of national ceremonies and become one of the classic representatives of Chinese silk culture.

Bian Huizhong, a fashion designer, takes nature as the theme, Song brocade as the paper, dots, lines and planes as the ink, and combines the Western three-dimensional cutting technology and heterogeneous splicing to draw a fashion picture that is not deliberately carved but poetic and romantic.

The designer presents the fairy of Chinese landscape, the spirit of birds singing and flowers fragrance, and the shining sun and moon on the clothing with the freehand artistic design technique.

In the application of clothing fabrics, Shangjiukai combines Song brocade with modern cashmere, wool and other yarns through patterns to form seamless splicing, breaking the traditional understanding of textile yarn application.

Combining the Song brocade aesthetics with modern tailoring, Shangjiukai integrates the craftsmanship bearing the world's intangible cultural heritage into fashion, presenting a series of ancient and bold innovative designs, carrying forward the Chinese silk culture.