Silver Textile, Fabric, Textures, Patterns and Cloth Design · 2020
The Withering Flower Printed Textile
- A' Design Award 2020 Silver Winner in Textile, Fabric, Textures, Patterns and Cloth Design
- Awarded April 15, 2020
- CLIENT: Angela Chiang
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 59,313
- Verification code 50757B6743 · Verify this award
About The Withering Flower Printed Textile
The Withering Flower is a celebration of the power of the flower image. The flower is a popular subject written as personification in Chinese literature. In contrast to the blooming flower’s popularity, images of the decaying flower are often associated with jinx and taboos. The collection looks at what shapes a community’s perception on what is sublime and abject. Designed in 100cm to 200cm length of tulle dresses, silkscreen printing on translucent mesh fabrics, the textile technique allows the prints to stay opaque and stretchy on mesh, creating an appearance of prints afloat in the air.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- The Withering Flower collection developed a series of silk screen printed fabrics and dresses. Each dress is length 2 meters long of sheer nets, composed of flower motifs with specific meaning according to its symbolism in Chinese literature. The textile printing technique enabled the binders to stay opaque, flexible, and waterproof on stretchy yet see-through nets, creating an illusion of prints floating in the air as well as tattoos on the skin when the dress is worn against the body.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Long dress's dimension: W 450mm x L 2000mm
Short dress's dimension: W 450mm x L1300mm - Tags
- Textile, Fashion, Fabric, Flower, Screen Printing, Innovative Textile, Central Saint Martins,
- Production Technology
- Silk screen printing on stretchy and see-through nets. By specific mixture of textile binder ratios to achieve the stickiness and opaqueness that the prints would secure onto the fabric surface. After silk screen printing, the fabrics are sent into baking and steaming for colour vibrancy as well as further locking the binders onto the fabrics.
- Design Challenge
- The research challenge appeared when I started reading Chinese literature classics, yet to organize the literary references in order to strengthen the point in the withering flower as an abject. Yet we know the decaying things meant bad luck in fengshui, but why?
The misfortune and dead are an avoided subject which I was taught since childhood. But what is shaping my instinctive judgement that withering matters repel us? Is it the knowledge passed down from my parents, or their parents, or the ancestors before them? Since when and how are our immediate responses to certain subjects are formed? Is the common sense formed in generation of cultures, through written records, spoken languages, families' upbringings that the idea of death equals taboo.
The design and execution challenge is the most struggling during the making of the textiles. Getting the right ratio for the print binder has failed several times, the paste was either too light to stay on top of the fabrics, or too heavy that the fabrics became sticky and unwearable. After many efforts on print binder ratio testing, steaming temperature experiments, baking process, and checking washability, finally came out an adequate measure that securely locked the opaque print on see-through net fabrics, and at the same time retained the glossy appearance, flexibility, waterproof qualities. - Project Duration
- The project started in January 2016 in London UK, and finished in April 2016. It was exhibited at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design as my graduation collection show for BA Degree in Fashion Design.
- Operation Flow
- The collection's hand printed textiles are stretchy, waterproof, and remained opaque on sheer net fabrics, creating an illusion of glossy stickers floating in the air. Unlike digital sublimation printing on sheer fabrics whereas the patterns are blended into the material yet making them semi-see through, this textile collection developed a screen printing technique to keep the opaqueness and vibrancy of the prints staying securely on top of the fabric surface.
- Research
- The research for The Withering Flower collection began with studying the Chinese Literature classic, The Dream of the Red Chamber, a novel by Cao Xueqin, originally published in 1791 in China, later adapted and translated to English in 1987.
My research on the flower image, especially the symbolic decaying flower image in Oriental settings further developed from studying the female protagonist's epiphany, whereas the character sings, The Song of the Flower Burial, during chapter 27 in The Dream of the Red Chamber.
The fallen and decayed petals beautifully yet melancholically symbolized the female protagonist’s struggle and sorrow in an oppressed feudal aristocrat society.
As the flower is a common subject for personification in Chinese literature and poetry, the meaning each flower embodies, or given by the writer and poet, is derived from its cultural and historic values.
By first examining flower representation in Chinese cultural settings through literature works, I learnt about the principles of flower symbolism is to primarily promote good luck and well-being. And yet, the heritage-rich knowledge in measuring good fortune resulted in the study of fengshui, and it still retains its significant influence over Asian countries. There is a myth in Chinese tradition that people subconsciously desire to surround their presence with things that resemble fortune in literature meanings. Therefore the subject of a decaying flower is perceived as misfortune and taboo, in contrary to the blooming flower's meaning in longevity and prosperity.
Another example, in Chinese culture the white chrysanthemum is the flower for funeral, and would be considered as a jinx if given on a normal occasion. The number 4 has the same pronunciation as death, and is avoided at hotel and apartment's unit number, even hospital would exclude the fourth floor at flooring plan, yet skipping from third floor directly to fifth floor at building indicator maps. The number 4 is as well a bad-luck number at giving out gifts, flowers, or the amount of red envelope money at Chinese new year.
The dead flower on the body leads to taboos about mortality and loss, as even the slightest sight of a vase of decaying flower is seen as an abject, and to be avoided in Chinese culture and custom. The dilemma I experienced around the cultural responses over the withering flower inspired me to analyze the traditions and paradigms that are shaping our aesthetics. - Inspiration
- The Withering Flower collection is inspired by the power of the flower image, its impact both visually and symbolically in Oriental setting.
From the flower’s precise metaphor in classical Chinese literature, The Dream of the Red Chamber, which simultaneously reflects the women living in a feudal society in the stories; to the extend of how the flowers are interpreted in fengshui as well as gifting etiquette, I was vividly drawn to the Oriental world of defining the flower visuals. - Image Credits
- Image #1: Photographer Yi Tuo/ Lookbook Stylist Zipeng Li, The Withering Flower, 2016.
Image #2: Photographer Yi Tuo/ Lookbook Stylist Zipeng Li, The Withering Flower, 2016.
Image #3: Photographer Yi Tuo/ Lookbook Stylist Zipeng Li, The Withering Flower, 2016. - Patents
- Copyrights belong to Angela Chiang, 2020.
Colors of The Withering Flower Printed Textile
Get The Withering Flower Printed Textile
Custom Textile and Pattern Design Services
We create innovative textile designs and patterns inspired by Oriental heritage. Our studio specializes in custom screen printing, fashion design, and cultural pattern development for theatre, hospitality, and corporate clients. Award-winning expertise meets traditional artistry.
G0E3 ShopDesign Interview about The Withering Flower Printed Textile
The inspiration of The Withering Flower collection initially came from studying one of the Chinese' four great literature classics, "The Dream of the Red Chamber" by Cao Xueqin in the 18th century.
Throughout the story, images of flowers are spontaneously written as personification and foreshadowing as each character progressed over the storyline.
One of the poems that appeared in the story, "The song of the Flower Burial," as sung by the female protagonist, is a metaphor to the character's silent struggles in a feudal and aristocratic society.
The image of a flower's decay and burial symbolizes the inevitable death of all beautiful things, and the poem has since become my core inspiration to further study the flower image and its significance in Chinese culture.
Throughout the story, images of flowers are spontaneously written as personification and foreshadowing as each character progressed over the storyline.
One of the poems that appeared in the story, "The song of the Flower Burial," as sung by the female protagonist, is a metaphor to the character's silent struggles in a feudal and aristocratic society.
The image of a flower's decay and burial symbolizes the inevitable death of all beautiful things, and the poem has since become my core inspiration to further study the flower image and its significance in Chinese culture.
There are two core focuses in this collection: the conceptual research on the flower's image correlates with cultural identity and the technical execution on developing the textile technique.
For the conceptual aspect, I hope to discover the flower image beyond its traditional association with prettiness and affinity by examing the withered flower's symbolism, and the reason of why the decay is often perceived as misfortune in Chinese literature and culture.
For the technical aspect, I aimed to develop a specific silkscreen printing technique, that would make prints stay securely opaque on mesh and net fabrics while retaining the fabric's elasticity.
For the conceptual aspect, I hope to discover the flower image beyond its traditional association with prettiness and affinity by examing the withered flower's symbolism, and the reason of why the decay is often perceived as misfortune in Chinese literature and culture.
For the technical aspect, I aimed to develop a specific silkscreen printing technique, that would make prints stay securely opaque on mesh and net fabrics while retaining the fabric's elasticity.
I plan to continue further study on the flower's significance in Chinese literature and create a visual library of the flower images' meanings and unique application throughout historical and contemporary cultural settings.
Alongside the continuous conceptual research, I also plan on working larger scale art pieces and installations with the textile applique for a future solo exhibition.
Alongside the continuous conceptual research, I also plan on working larger scale art pieces and installations with the textile applique for a future solo exhibition.
The whole process, from the research phase to the finalized pieces, took approximately three to four months to complete.
The collection is designed and made for the graduate fashion show during my BA studies at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.
The design is currently not for sale; it is used by Angela Tsai Jung Chiang's studio for future artwork development.
During my BA at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, my studies specialized in womenswear and printed textile design. As my childhood aspiration was to become a manga artist, I have always think of the prints on clothes as bringing essence out of a 2D paper, like painting on a living canvas.
When I was working on this collection, I precisely wanted to infuse the 2D perspective into the dresses, creating a linear and flat silhouette as though every piece of dress could roll into a scroll, and layout open like a painting.
The use of this particular textile technique, printing opaquely onto see-through fabrics, created an illusion of the prints floating in the air, and the method links back to my core vision of bringing essence out of 2D paper.
When I was working on this collection, I precisely wanted to infuse the 2D perspective into the dresses, creating a linear and flat silhouette as though every piece of dress could roll into a scroll, and layout open like a painting.
The use of this particular textile technique, printing opaquely onto see-through fabrics, created an illusion of the prints floating in the air, and the method links back to my core vision of bringing essence out of 2D paper.
During the conceptual research phase, I found great inspiration from the Chinese literature classic "The Dream of the Red Chamber" by Cao Xueqin in the 18th century.
I was also greatly inspired by British Artist, Anya Gallaccio. Gallaccio's site-specific installations using organic and decomposable matters have been a fascinating inspiration for me to further look into the transience of life.
I was also greatly inspired by British Artist, Anya Gallaccio. Gallaccio's site-specific installations using organic and decomposable matters have been a fascinating inspiration for me to further look into the transience of life.
This collection of printed dresses is created as art pieces, more of an artistic approach. However, the prints in this collection would improvise into a visual library, with each flower image/print correlating to its symbolism in Chinese literature in the future.
Each choice of floral print in the collection is based on its unique cultural language and symbolism in Chinese culture and heritage.
One of the dresses in the collection is printed in chrysanthemum motifs, the cultural language associated with chrysanthemums are the flowers for the funeral, as it is a taboo of gifting chrysanthemum in Chinese culture. Another dress from the collection is printed in decayed poppies. The poppy flower itself is considered as a controversial symbol, and the use of decaying matters as adornment on the body is sought to be bringing bad luck from cultural myths.
In the context of this collection, I want to question what shapes the viewer and the community's validation of what is considered as a sublime and objection.
One of the dresses in the collection is printed in chrysanthemum motifs, the cultural language associated with chrysanthemums are the flowers for the funeral, as it is a taboo of gifting chrysanthemum in Chinese culture. Another dress from the collection is printed in decayed poppies. The poppy flower itself is considered as a controversial symbol, and the use of decaying matters as adornment on the body is sought to be bringing bad luck from cultural myths.
In the context of this collection, I want to question what shapes the viewer and the community's validation of what is considered as a sublime and objection.
In contrast to the blooming flower's popularity, the decaying flower is often associated with jinx and taboos in Chinese culture.
The withering flower is perceived as abject and to be consciously avoided in a broad cultural context, from principles in Fengshui to gifting etiquette in Chinese culture.
The portrayal of the flower image would link to the sentiments and glorification on preserving life, sustaining good fortunes, while subconsciously evading symbols of passing and downfall.
The name of the collection, The Withering Flower, is also a question about what is considered as abject, and what is impacting the conventional perceptiveness.
The withering flower is perceived as abject and to be consciously avoided in a broad cultural context, from principles in Fengshui to gifting etiquette in Chinese culture.
The portrayal of the flower image would link to the sentiments and glorification on preserving life, sustaining good fortunes, while subconsciously evading symbols of passing and downfall.
The name of the collection, The Withering Flower, is also a question about what is considered as abject, and what is impacting the conventional perceptiveness.
The design began with live drawing and observation on both the blooming and the withering flowers over two weeks. I used pencil, felted pen, ink, and charcoal to capture the silhouette of the flower's life cycle, from the freshly blooming flowers to its gradual decay.
The hand illustrations were transformed onto silkscreens for textile printing, and lastly, the fabrics were sewn into dress pieces.
The hand illustrations were transformed onto silkscreens for textile printing, and lastly, the fabrics were sewn into dress pieces.
The Withering Flower collection was nominated to apply for the A'Design Award. It is a fantastic experience to take part in the international design competition.