For Chinese cultural self-confidence and a new way of Chinese fashion life
2017 Chantel Gong • Gong Hangyu A/W Cheongsam Fashion Show was held in Beijing
May 15, 2017 ｜ by Zhao Zihan
2017 Chantel Gong • Gong Hangyu A/W Cheongsam Fashion Show was staged in Beijing Hotel this Spring, featured with innovative ways to integrate such cultural elements as the stage, Incense Taoism, and poetry. For the designer, cheongsam as a bridge between culture and diplomacy will contribute to the cultural output of the Belt and Road Initiative, enhancing the Chinese cultural self-confidence.
Chantel Gong digs the characteristics of traditional Chinese costumes, especially cheongsam, and then combines it with modern way of life to make traditional costumes more close to life, more vogue and with art fashion. Brand designer Ms. Gong Hangyu graduated from the design schools in Korea and France and once travelled nearly 40 countries in her youth. Her design style is the synthesis of Korean elegance, French romance and American pragmatism, and also present the beauty of artistic conception and graceful style by integrating the Oriental culture and art. Her product promotion is a breakthrough on tradition. The cultural experience and art interactive experience has drawn wide attention once it is launched and has built a kind of new Chinese way of life.
The products adopt crafts of western-style cutting and profile combined with traditional Chinese embroidery, beading and exquisite handmade works. Female aestheticism feelings are expressed in details, and thus show a perfect combination of Chinese and western culture and technology.
Based in Beijing, Chantel Gong’s business focuses on the design and cultural creativity. Now it is a comprehensive platform with local features and mutual supports, including design production headquarters in Hangzhou, marketing headquarters in Shanghai, cultural communication headquarters in Ningbo etc. Chantel Gong treats the Oriental costumes as a carrier, disseminates clothes ideas with culture and art creativity, which overturns the limitations of traditional apparel companies. the Internet thinking redefines the design not just a product but also a mode for creative communication and idea innovation.
Freehand costumes show oriental beauty
In order to better show the Chinese cultural self-confidence, the designer tries to give a better interpretation to the Oriental women beauty and the Chinese cultural self-confidence through the show of their ideological changes from liberation, to independence and self-confidence. “It can be said that this is a cultural journey of roots, but also a new starting point for the Chinese cheongsam to the world.” Ms. Gong Hangyu introduced in the interview. In order to extend the century heritage of Chinese clothing, she made a repair of the discontinuity of the garment culture during the war period as well as the Cultural Revolution period.
“I am always thinking about what Chinese culture is and how the modern people inherit and innovate it, especially about the future of Chinese cheongsam.” As for the original intention of this show, Ms. Gong said: “At present, our country is making great efforts to promote the Belt and Road Initiative, which will help the world have a better understanding of Chinese culture, while cheongsam is a good carrier of cultural symbols, which is able to show the world the profound Chinese culture as well as modern fashion style and self-confidence.” It is in this context that the first music poetry cheongsam fashion show came into being.
Ms. Gong firmly believes that the integration of cultural heritage and modern fashion is the fashion future of Chinese culture.
Multi cultural integration presents a new way of Chinese fashion life
In order to vividly show the great beauty of Chinese culture, Ms. Gong strives to fully present a new way of the Oriental Chinese fashion life in the show, based on Lin Huiyin and Xu Zhimo’s three-stage love story, to show the century changes of garments and the Oriental feelings through the integration of six different cultural elements including the stage, Incense Taoism, poetry, sitcom, the environment Aesthetics, and catwalk show.
“In fact, what I would like to express most is what kind of clothing the modern orientals should wear in order to show the Chinese people’s unique culture and self-confidence.” According to Ms. Gong, this show, based on the oriental life scene and the modern aesthetic standard, gave an interpretation to a series of cheongsam changes with the development of the times, such as the simple style in the twenties and thirties, the combination with the Western-style tailoring, and the skirt suit, pants suit, social dress, Chinese wedding dress conform to various life scenes, which is a perfect reproduction of Chinese women’s pursuit of fashion, personality and elegance.
In this regard, Ms. Gong classified cheongsam into life cheongsam, business cheongsam, fashion cheongsam, and dress cheongsam, advocating to dress according to the scene of life, and made personalized design of such different styles as classical, natural, romantic, art, and elegant, so that every woman is capable of finding their own temperament style.
In the process, Gong Hangyu is no longer confined to the traditional dragon and phoenix patterns, embroidery technique, but to give every detail the fashion tension, for each detail is endowed with modern fashion elements, and combined with the elegance and charming of High Fashion silk, showing the artistic conception, line rhyme and poetic flavor full of rich Chinese connotation, simple and comfortable. You can “wear a cheongsam like wearing a fashionable dress all year round”.
It is worth mentioning that this show also gained full support from the World Miss Kong Jing, Chu Huiqing, China’s top-ten famous model, and international supermodels from all over the country. And the most warmhearted was the aesthetic interpretation of Gong Hangyu and her daughter’s parent-child design. Her 10-year-old daughter personally participated in the design of the children’s cheongsam, seeing the world of cheongsam from the perspective of a child.
Cheongsam diplomacy achieves an international cultural exchange ambassador
Chantel Gong Chinese fashion has won affection from both the industry and a great number of consumers at home and abroad since its inception thanks to its Oriental vision and combination with Western-style tailoring and pattern-making process. The designated cheongsam brand for the International Miss National Champion and Miss Universe Champion; making 500 cheongsams for 2016 CCTV Spring Festival Evening Gala - Shanghai Parallel Session and the Lantern Festival; invited to participate in the 2015 Milan World Expo, attending the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Suriname; participating in the 2016 Auckland Christmas Parade, San Francisco International Fashion Week, and the global Confucius Institute cultural exchange; striking a pose on the stage of China International Fashion Week ... Gong Hangyu has created numerous miracles in just four years, and has published a number of essays and poetry collection, succeeding in making Chantel Gong cheongsam a must choice for the celebrities, female elites and international ambassadors.
“Only based on Chinese culture, can the international-oriented cheongsam set up the channel for international exchanges. Cheongsam not only belongs to China, but her beauty, self-confidence, and elegance should belong to the world.” As a modern cheongsam spokesperson, Gong Hangyu believes that cheongsam is not only a symbol of Chinese culture, but also the “body language” for the world’s beautiful women to re-understand themselves with self-confidence.
“I am trying to be a represent of Chinese traditional culture to the world.” “Art comes into life, life demonstrates art”, which is the essence of Chinese culture, also the pursuit of Chantel Gong.
Let the culture come into life
It can be said that modern cheongsam, as the heritage of traditional excellent cultural genes, not only integrates modern economic and cultural development, but also becomes the new Chinese fashion life representative after the stage when the suits and ties were the representative of the Western fashion culture.
“The product management of Chantel Gong is not just cheongsam, but more about culture. Only cultural charm and tone is the soul of the development of modern companies. Therefore, from the beginning, I have been attaching special importance to the promotion of consumer artistic appreciation, quality and taste guide as well as a variety of culture and life training, hoping to drive more people to show elegance and self-confidence of human nature from inside to outside, achieving the new Chinese fashion culture lifestyle.” Gong Hangyu said, in order to achieve the inheritance and innovation of Chinese culture, in particular, help the Belt and Road cultural output, Chantel Gong will recruit 30 high-quality city partners all over the world, to jointly extend the new elements of Chinese clothing culture, enhance the cultural self-confidence of national brands, and promote Chinese fashion to the world.
