Stitch up some clever embroidery
By Patsy Yang and Wang Zhiyu |
July 11, 2010, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A trading route spanning China, central Asia, northern India and the Parthian and Roman Empires 2,000 years ago took the magnificent products of ancient Chinese civilization to the world along the Silk Road.
The art of embroidery stitched in glittering silk was cherished as a luxury by foreign emperors. The elaborately hand-stitched clothing and house items signified the owner's wealth and social status. Chinese folk handcraft is said to have a history of more than 5,000 years. Regional embroidery styles developed over the centuries, such as Suxiu, Yuexiu, Shuxiu and Xiangxiu.
Each has a distinctive style reflected in the type of thread, color and stitching. Chinese embroidery patterns grew from specific aspects of Chinese culture, including politics, the economy, religion, philosophy and folk customs. Patterns typically used include animals, flowers and natural scenes.
The exquisite embroidery silk art that fascinated the ancient world holds great appeal for many to this day. Shanghai, where Chinese culture and Western civilization meet and merge, gives the traditional art a special character. While all the international brands have made their way to the city's major retail malls, the real appeal of shopping here is finding the boutiques that embrace its past in the present, such as through modern embroidery.
Brocade Country features Miao styles
Filled with exotic and extraordinary Miao embroidery, the 40-square-meter Brocade Country is a hidden gem on Julu Road. The artistically pleasing products, rich in color and design, are peculiar to the Miao ethnic group living in southwest China's Guizhou Province. It usually features exaggerated figures based on observations by Miao women of objects in their culture and daily lives, such as flowers and birds, resulting in an artistic abstraction rich in aesthetic value. The owner travels to her hometown in Guizhou every three months to collect embroidered items. However, the number of Miao masters has been decreasing as fewer young people wear their traditional costumes. Most pieces at Brocade Country are collector's items and can cost as high as 8,000 yuan (US$1,181) for costumes and 4,000 yuan for extraordinary embroidered fabrics. A visit to Brocade Country can offer a better and deeper understanding of Miao embroidery; items range in size and price and the fabric is easy to slip into a tourist's suitcase.
Opening hours: 10:30am-7pm
Address: 616 Julu Rd
Tel: 6279-2677
Annabel Lee for a modern shawl
If you like Shanghai, Annabel Lee is the place to visit as the city's charm of combining tradition and modernity is well represented in its designs. The use of traditional patterns with a modern aesthetic sense make its products eye-catching. Items include silk passport holders, silk bags and cashmere blankets lined in silk. Its newest hit is the silk shawl with a round fan theme, a fan traditionally popular among young ladies in the royal court or who came from wealthy families. The glittering silk shawl is embroidered in the fan's pattern, embodying the elegance and grace of tradition. Annabel Lee is also ideal to pick up little gifts.
Opening hours: 10am-10pm
Address: No. 1, Lane 8, Zhongshan Rd E1
Tel: 6445-8218
Slip the toes into silk at Suzhou Cobbler
Set among the luxury stores along the Bund, Suzhou Cobbler is a tiny shop easy to miss. Find the corner of Fuzhou Road and Zhongshan Road E1 and walk through the entrance into a small room filled with beautifully hand-embroidered silk shoes and slippers with quirky designs. The shoes are completely worked by hand, from the silk stitching to the leather soles. Merging traditional Suzhou embroidery techniques with modern styles, the footwear items are great works of art and a feast for the eyes. Owner and designer Denise Huang, armed with a background in graphic art, designs the patterns and colors that reflect Shanghai's early grand era when the city was a fashion capital. She is keen on recreating the kind of high-quality slippers that style-conscious Chinese women like her grandmother once wore. The results are vivid motifs of flowers and animals embroidered onto pure silk or cotton fabric. Each pair of Suzhou Cobblers arrives in its very own plush velvet bag. Ladies slippers start from 450 yuan, men's are 780 yuan and junior slip-ons 398 yuan.
Opening hours: 10am-6:30pm
Address: Unit 101, 17 Fuzhou Rd
Tel: 6321-7087
The art of embroidery stitched in glittering silk was cherished as a luxury by foreign emperors. The elaborately hand-stitched clothing and house items signified the owner's wealth and social status. Chinese folk handcraft is said to have a history of more than 5,000 years. Regional embroidery styles developed over the centuries, such as Suxiu, Yuexiu, Shuxiu and Xiangxiu.
Each has a distinctive style reflected in the type of thread, color and stitching. Chinese embroidery patterns grew from specific aspects of Chinese culture, including politics, the economy, religion, philosophy and folk customs. Patterns typically used include animals, flowers and natural scenes.
The exquisite embroidery silk art that fascinated the ancient world holds great appeal for many to this day. Shanghai, where Chinese culture and Western civilization meet and merge, gives the traditional art a special character. While all the international brands have made their way to the city's major retail malls, the real appeal of shopping here is finding the boutiques that embrace its past in the present, such as through modern embroidery.
Brocade Country features Miao styles
Filled with exotic and extraordinary Miao embroidery, the 40-square-meter Brocade Country is a hidden gem on Julu Road. The artistically pleasing products, rich in color and design, are peculiar to the Miao ethnic group living in southwest China's Guizhou Province. It usually features exaggerated figures based on observations by Miao women of objects in their culture and daily lives, such as flowers and birds, resulting in an artistic abstraction rich in aesthetic value. The owner travels to her hometown in Guizhou every three months to collect embroidered items. However, the number of Miao masters has been decreasing as fewer young people wear their traditional costumes. Most pieces at Brocade Country are collector's items and can cost as high as 8,000 yuan (US$1,181) for costumes and 4,000 yuan for extraordinary embroidered fabrics. A visit to Brocade Country can offer a better and deeper understanding of Miao embroidery; items range in size and price and the fabric is easy to slip into a tourist's suitcase.
Opening hours: 10:30am-7pm
Address: 616 Julu Rd
Tel: 6279-2677
Annabel Lee for a modern shawl
If you like Shanghai, Annabel Lee is the place to visit as the city's charm of combining tradition and modernity is well represented in its designs. The use of traditional patterns with a modern aesthetic sense make its products eye-catching. Items include silk passport holders, silk bags and cashmere blankets lined in silk. Its newest hit is the silk shawl with a round fan theme, a fan traditionally popular among young ladies in the royal court or who came from wealthy families. The glittering silk shawl is embroidered in the fan's pattern, embodying the elegance and grace of tradition. Annabel Lee is also ideal to pick up little gifts.
Opening hours: 10am-10pm
Address: No. 1, Lane 8, Zhongshan Rd E1
Tel: 6445-8218
Slip the toes into silk at Suzhou Cobbler
Set among the luxury stores along the Bund, Suzhou Cobbler is a tiny shop easy to miss. Find the corner of Fuzhou Road and Zhongshan Road E1 and walk through the entrance into a small room filled with beautifully hand-embroidered silk shoes and slippers with quirky designs. The shoes are completely worked by hand, from the silk stitching to the leather soles. Merging traditional Suzhou embroidery techniques with modern styles, the footwear items are great works of art and a feast for the eyes. Owner and designer Denise Huang, armed with a background in graphic art, designs the patterns and colors that reflect Shanghai's early grand era when the city was a fashion capital. She is keen on recreating the kind of high-quality slippers that style-conscious Chinese women like her grandmother once wore. The results are vivid motifs of flowers and animals embroidered onto pure silk or cotton fabric. Each pair of Suzhou Cobblers arrives in its very own plush velvet bag. Ladies slippers start from 450 yuan, men's are 780 yuan and junior slip-ons 398 yuan.
Opening hours: 10am-6:30pm
Address: Unit 101, 17 Fuzhou Rd
Tel: 6321-7087
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