Reviving a dyeing textile tradition of color
By Nie Xin |
July 22, 2012, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
TODAY the dominant textile, synthetic fabric and chemical dye industries eclipse ancient traditions of handwoven and naturally dyed fabrics that prevailed in China.
But South Korean Joan Sunghee Kim, who specializes in natural dyes, is trying to revive traditions and encourage fashion-conscious people to choose natural fabrics colored with natural dyes.
Garments are a "second skin," according to Kim, who holds a master's degree in anthropology and a PhD in China's textile technology. She has been living in Shanghai for 15 years.
"I believe that soon more people will accept the concept that being fashionable is wearing natural and healthy fabrics," she told Shanghai Daily in an interview during her third China exhibition of naturally dyed fabrics. It closed this month.
Her years of research into textile culture, color and technology have helped promote China's textile arts and made natural fabric and natural dye fashion more fashionable.
Wearing white cotton-flax trousers, a white T-shirt and earrings of indigo print fabric, Kim showed up at the Korean Cultural Center for her exhibition titled "Slow Fashion and Life."
Kim is a natural dyeing specialist and textile consultant, as well as the founder of the fashion brand Dyetree. After completing her master's degree in anthropology in Taiwan, Kim arrived in Shanghai to study China's textiles for her PhD.
The exhibition featured garments, accessories, linens, draperies, cushioned furniture and household articles, all made of cotton and flax and colored using natural dyes extracted from animals, vegetables and minerals.
Kim serves traditional Korean hot tea, emphasizing its health benefits. Words like "healthy" and "comfortable" frequently came up during the interview.
"We are losing something important when people make big demands for more money, larger quantities and higher production speeds," Kim said. "This exhibition is not merely about textiles, dyeing and fashion but also about spreading the concept of health - wearing natural materials without additives and following the seasonal changes."
Kim became interested in Chinese traditional textiles while studying at Taiwan National University; she later worked for three years as an assistant researcher at the university's Museum of Anthropology.
"There I learned a lot about the history, culture and clothing of Chinese ethnic groups," she said. "This made me very curious about China's traditional fabrics and dyeing."
She moved to Shanghai to study at Donghua University, formerly known as China Textile University, pursuing a PhD.
She published "The Classical Colors of China" in Chinese in 2006. In 2001, the Chinese government acquired her TANSULI eco-textile wool fabric that is dyed naturally. The next year she delivered a speech to experts in the United States on traditional Chinese dyeing technology and colors.
Kim enjoys the Chinese classic novel "Hong Lou Meng," or "A Dream of Red Mansions," and is especially interested in its descriptions of color, such as bean green, autumn color, pine pollen yellow and other terms. She developed natural dyes to represent those colors using natural materials.
"Most of the ways to represent those colors have disappeared in China," she said. Those colors were featured in her recent exhibition.
In her research, Kim visited many small towns in Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces, visiting those ethnic groups expected to have inherited the techniques. But she was disappointed.
"Very few old techniques and textile culture have been passed down," she said, adding that even Wuzhen in Zhejiang, famous for indigo prints, now uses long-lasting, brighter chemical dyes.
Natural dyeing has become so unusual that it is a tourist attraction, she said. Equipment is available to produce large quantities of naturally dyed fabric, but there's little investment.
"It's a pity and it results from relatively higher cost and lack of education among consumers," she said.
Predictably, she much prefers hand-woven and dyed fabrics, each piece and pattern unique.
"The color of natural dye work will fade, just like nature and our lives. We can re-dye it. It doesn't matter," she said.
She is disappointed that too many people in the fashion industry focus on style and not enough on natural materials and natural dyes.
Her understanding of fashion is that first comes fabric and comfort, often cotton and flax.
"Clothes are people's second skin. You should clearly know the texture of what you wear - looking, asking and feeling with your hands," she said.
Next month her garments will be exhibited at a fashion exhibition in Malaysia organized by the government to promote the arts of traditional weaving and natural dyeing in Southeast Asia.
Joan Sunghee Kim
Nationality: Korean
Age: 51
Profession: Natural dyeing consultant (PhD)
Self-description:
Working hard and stubbornly following dreams
Q&A:
Favorite place:
Mt She in Songjiang District. When in South Korea, I often climb mountains on weekends. As a Catholic, I like the church atop Mt She.
Strangest sight:
Residents in communities dancing and doing group outdoor exercises to very loud music.
Worst experience:
None
Motto for life:
Thank God and be happy every day.
How to improve Shanghai:
Fix traffic problems and illegal parking.
Advice to newcomers:
Go outside of your circle to explore this city, like visiting a museum by yourself.
But South Korean Joan Sunghee Kim, who specializes in natural dyes, is trying to revive traditions and encourage fashion-conscious people to choose natural fabrics colored with natural dyes.
Garments are a "second skin," according to Kim, who holds a master's degree in anthropology and a PhD in China's textile technology. She has been living in Shanghai for 15 years.
"I believe that soon more people will accept the concept that being fashionable is wearing natural and healthy fabrics," she told Shanghai Daily in an interview during her third China exhibition of naturally dyed fabrics. It closed this month.
Her years of research into textile culture, color and technology have helped promote China's textile arts and made natural fabric and natural dye fashion more fashionable.
Wearing white cotton-flax trousers, a white T-shirt and earrings of indigo print fabric, Kim showed up at the Korean Cultural Center for her exhibition titled "Slow Fashion and Life."
Kim is a natural dyeing specialist and textile consultant, as well as the founder of the fashion brand Dyetree. After completing her master's degree in anthropology in Taiwan, Kim arrived in Shanghai to study China's textiles for her PhD.
The exhibition featured garments, accessories, linens, draperies, cushioned furniture and household articles, all made of cotton and flax and colored using natural dyes extracted from animals, vegetables and minerals.
Kim serves traditional Korean hot tea, emphasizing its health benefits. Words like "healthy" and "comfortable" frequently came up during the interview.
"We are losing something important when people make big demands for more money, larger quantities and higher production speeds," Kim said. "This exhibition is not merely about textiles, dyeing and fashion but also about spreading the concept of health - wearing natural materials without additives and following the seasonal changes."
Kim became interested in Chinese traditional textiles while studying at Taiwan National University; she later worked for three years as an assistant researcher at the university's Museum of Anthropology.
"There I learned a lot about the history, culture and clothing of Chinese ethnic groups," she said. "This made me very curious about China's traditional fabrics and dyeing."
She moved to Shanghai to study at Donghua University, formerly known as China Textile University, pursuing a PhD.
She published "The Classical Colors of China" in Chinese in 2006. In 2001, the Chinese government acquired her TANSULI eco-textile wool fabric that is dyed naturally. The next year she delivered a speech to experts in the United States on traditional Chinese dyeing technology and colors.
Kim enjoys the Chinese classic novel "Hong Lou Meng," or "A Dream of Red Mansions," and is especially interested in its descriptions of color, such as bean green, autumn color, pine pollen yellow and other terms. She developed natural dyes to represent those colors using natural materials.
"Most of the ways to represent those colors have disappeared in China," she said. Those colors were featured in her recent exhibition.
In her research, Kim visited many small towns in Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces, visiting those ethnic groups expected to have inherited the techniques. But she was disappointed.
"Very few old techniques and textile culture have been passed down," she said, adding that even Wuzhen in Zhejiang, famous for indigo prints, now uses long-lasting, brighter chemical dyes.
Natural dyeing has become so unusual that it is a tourist attraction, she said. Equipment is available to produce large quantities of naturally dyed fabric, but there's little investment.
"It's a pity and it results from relatively higher cost and lack of education among consumers," she said.
Predictably, she much prefers hand-woven and dyed fabrics, each piece and pattern unique.
"The color of natural dye work will fade, just like nature and our lives. We can re-dye it. It doesn't matter," she said.
She is disappointed that too many people in the fashion industry focus on style and not enough on natural materials and natural dyes.
Her understanding of fashion is that first comes fabric and comfort, often cotton and flax.
"Clothes are people's second skin. You should clearly know the texture of what you wear - looking, asking and feeling with your hands," she said.
Next month her garments will be exhibited at a fashion exhibition in Malaysia organized by the government to promote the arts of traditional weaving and natural dyeing in Southeast Asia.
Joan Sunghee Kim
Nationality: Korean
Age: 51
Profession: Natural dyeing consultant (PhD)
Self-description:
Working hard and stubbornly following dreams
Q&A:
Favorite place:
Mt She in Songjiang District. When in South Korea, I often climb mountains on weekends. As a Catholic, I like the church atop Mt She.
Strangest sight:
Residents in communities dancing and doing group outdoor exercises to very loud music.
Worst experience:
None
Motto for life:
Thank God and be happy every day.
How to improve Shanghai:
Fix traffic problems and illegal parking.
Advice to newcomers:
Go outside of your circle to explore this city, like visiting a museum by yourself.
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