Yao Lan, a young inheritor of Suzhou embroidery, said comprehensive communication efforts are needed to make more people understand and appreciate the ancient craft.
It needs to be a multi-layer approach to target niche communities by showing the artistic values and sophistication and also make its way to pop culture in order to expand the outreach, according to Yao.
Yao Lan (L), her mother Yao Jianping and younger sister Yao Zhuo
Yao's mother Yao Jianping is a master of the national-level intangible cultural heritage, known as "queen of Suzhou embroidery." The junior completed her Bachelor's degree at China Academy of Art and Master's degrees at the Academy of Arts and Design, Tsinghua University and then Sotheby's Institute of Art.
With origins stretching back more than 2,000 years, Suzhou embroidery was one of China's four famous embroidery techniques and recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage for detailed needlework, beautiful patterns, and consummate craftsmanship. Over the years, the craft has developed a complete set of knowledge and skills associated with rearing of silkworms, silk harvesting, designing, weaving and embroidering.
Couture wedding gown handmade by Yao Lan's team
In recent years, the handmade, customized Suzhou embroidery dresses have increasingly gained popularity. Many newlyweds, and sometimes their parents, prefer to have dresses featuring Suzhou embroidery.
In the view of the young artisan, the development of Suzhou embroidery needs to center on two directions - to create high art pieces that can inspire and be collectable and to integrate the craft with clothing and accessories that connect closely to everyday life.
In addition to continuing classic styles, Yao Lan has made innovative steps to give a fresh look to fine dresses in the Suzhou-style embroidery.
"To provide individually tailored dresses, we are flexible to the requirements of customers so long as they don't deviate too much from tradition. For example, besides red, there are many color choices including blue and golden that also symbolize good luck in Chinese culture," said Yao.
The style and patterns on the dress can be custom-made too according to the preference of customers.
"Because many young people nowadays want to show more the national characteristics and cultural elements, especially on the big day, we will first decide a theme based on the couple's love story or family backgrounds, and then choose the appropriate needlework and patterns. We hope that the traditional Chinese wedding dresses are not only functional in the important ceremony but also more of the Chinese people's love for the family," she said.
Her team members are mostly in their twenties and they are committed to the design and making of products popular among young people and useful in daily life, such as phone cases and notebooks. This approach helps narrow the distance between traditional heritage and contemporary life and also between the artisans and customers.
The team's social media accounts now have more than 500,000 followers, and the cooperation with mobile game developers also provides new opportunities to bond with tech-savvy consumers in the digital world as Yao regards the craft as a treasure trove.
Yao is also proud that her mother's creations were chosen as state gifts and collected by the Olympic Museum, Buckingham Palace and the Spanish royal family.
The incredible thing of Suzhou embroidery is that it can show the light and shadow like in photographing and creates vivid effects with perspectives and levels of details, according to Yao.
(Photos provided to Xinhua Daily)
Suzhou embroidery is so elaborate and intricate that Yao sees it as a time-consuming artistic endeavor. An artwork featuring lotus flower has been going on for six months, about 9 hours a day, and it already shows amazing colors under different light conditions, according to Yao.
