CULTURAL HERITAGE PROJECT
January - February 2022
Overdyed folding lantern top with screenprinted and hand-dyed sheath dress, stockings, and brassiere
Made with upcycled parachuting ripstop fabric sourced from Ræburn Studios
What makes it so easy for some to embrace their cultural heritage and identity, and others find it so different to feel like they can claim and own theirs proudly? Inspired by the push-and-pull feelings of a dual heritage and the implications it can have throughout one’s life, I drew on traditional Chinese elements such as ceramics used for Buddhist altars of worship, and lanterns aggressively enlarged to proportions that constrict the wearer’s movement and threaten to engulf them. The accessories include sculpted upcycled heels and tie dyed stockings to translate the painful practice of ancient Chinese footbinding for upper class women into a modern context and reflecting on how modern standards of beauty are still tortuous and unattainable but in a different way.
