Super Mario's grand designs for modern China
- By Elsbeth van Paridon
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E-mail China.org.cn, June 19, 2012
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Friends with benefits: Mario is currently designing for U-Style, as well as for a friend and yours truly. |
Midnight dresses in Paris
The year 2000 saw the then number one Chinese supermodel Lv Yan walking the runways during Paris Fashion Week. Shortly after, this groundbreaking specimen of model perfection was pictured on the covers of all the major fashion mags. Being a young Asian boy, Duyuchen took pride in and inspiration from Lv, believing that like her, he could also have a bright future. She had style, she had grace, she had attitude; she had it all. Duyuchen, being willing to take his chances, and also being prepared to lose, followed through on his passion. After having gone through the ordeal of being forced to wear that shocking graduation cap and gown, Duyuchen wanted to set up his own shop. Unfortunately, reality bit hard, and he found that it is quite hard to get people to buy designs from a recent graduate. And most Chinese fashion majors, in his own words, don’t know what it is they really want to do, don’t make plans and with current society here, many feel or get lost. Not Duyuchen himself though; taking one step at a time, he moved to the Jing and landed a job as a fashion designer for an Australian company. You need to start somewhere seeing that it takes a whole lot more (money) than just talent and persistence to set up shop. Look, for example, at some of the industry’s biggest names such as Galliano, who would have been on the steps of London’s V&A, not featured inside it, had it not been for Anna Wintour. I’m not discussing last year’s non-PC café debacle here, just addressing the fact that he’s one of those outrageously gifted creative geniuses.
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A taste of what's yet to come... |
The Immaculate Collection
The always perfectly dressed Duyuchen is stimulated by designers such as McQueen and Dolce&Gabbana. He also imbibes inspiration from the city’s architecture, landscape, people and culture. Anything, from history to animals, can stir his style-conscious brain into a frenzy of creative action. His favorite project runways are undoubtedly dresses, both casual and evening ones. Like many other young Chinese, his style includes a suave blend of traditional Chinese fashion culture and modern Western ideas. As far as China’s traditional styles goes, the Tang Dynasty (618-907), serves as Duyuchen’s muse. In his view, the Tang style of dressing is the very apex of fashion and style due to its accent on flawless chic design, from drawing to execution, sophistication and “pure China-ness”, meaning that no other country has the Tang’s style blueprint. There are, of course, still different, yet equally stylish approaches to fashion on both sides of the globe. According to Duyuchen, westerners tend to think in terms of comfort and simplicity when it comes to their wardrobes. This entails high-quality fabrics and perfect, flattering shapes. The Chinese on the other hand, lean more towards a love for luxury brands and limited editions. Most brands, though, being Western, are not a perfect fit for Asians. “We have different skin tones, hair colors, etc. It just doesn’t always look natural,” said Duyuchen. Clearly, knowing what (not) to wear is crucial to obtaining that Italian flair.
Fashionistas United, here’s some super Mario advice:
Learn how to walk before you strut!
Check out Duychen’s latest designs on www.u-style.com
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