Claire (QINGWEN) Huang, a fashion designer who graduated from central Saint Martin has worked in the department of retail marketing at Cartier as well as the department of design at Thom Brownie and simone rocha in the past few years. Her own brand, KINGWEN, is based in Shanghai and London and aims to combine modern aesthetics with classic fairytailes or paintings. Under the theme of romanticism.
HER PIECES HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED IN VOGUE ITALY, KINGKONG, V MAGAZINE COVER STORY, ETC.,
Who are you?
I am Qingwen, the founder and designer of KINGWEN.
Why fashion and not any other type of design?
Because fashion is wearable art on the body, I hope to explore the connection between the human body and fabric structure through garments.
What makes fashion special to you and what power do you see in it?
Fashion is a way of life and attitude, I hope that when someone wears the clothes I design, they get the confidence and happiness that the clothes themselves bring them.
Who and what are your primary references? Why?
Oil paintings and Chinese classical myths are my main references. I hope to integrate the color blend aesthetics of the East and the West in my designs
Where does the Versailles inspiration come from? What does Versailles represent for you?
The Palace of Versailles came from my childhood trip to France, which was the first time I came to a western country from China, and the Palace of Versailles is a collection of many magnificent treasures.
For me, it is a place where time and space travel can be forgotten.
What did you feel when you pictured a monk walking down the Versailles palace? How did you connect those contrasting entities and aesthetics?
The red color of the monk’s cassock contrasts sharply with the sparkling gold of Versailles.
I like the contradictory carrier of conflict. When the virtual and the real are combined, different layers and lightness are used.
What elements of Chinese culture do you feel have shaped your work?
The sense of water blends with ink in Chinese painting. Chinese painting pays attention to blank space. Many times, although nothing is drawn in the empty space, it is better than filling it. Just like clothing, sometimes less is more.
What textures, fabrics and materials do you like using the most and why?
I like to use a clear mesh layered printed fabric, which creates a different sense of pattern when the model walks around.
What is femininity to you and how does that imprint in your garments?
I think femininity is a touch of romance and fairy tales. Who doesn’t want to go back to childhood? In the new season, The Spring/Summer 2023 collection draws its inspiration from the image of Mi Fei, the goddess of Luo Shui, or the Goddess of Luo, who is a legendary figure in China’s pre-Qin dynasty.
Like the sun rising in the sunset, like a lotus flower emerging from the clear water. Bright as the sun rising in the sunset, burning like a lotus flower emerging from the straining waves.”
The Goddess of Luo is the embodiment of the oriental ideal of aesthetics.
This collection intends to depict the ancient Chinese goddess in the oil paintings of the Impressionist Claude Monet, with the intention of exploring the Western imagination with an Eastern aesthetic. The goddess of Luo leaps out of traditional Chinese ink and wash paintings, wrapped in a halo of colour from ink and brush into Monet’s mysteriously dense Impressionist canvases, appearing and disappearing like a light cloud over the moon or a flowing wind back into the snow. This collection continues the use of ink colours and oil brush strokes, tracing the beauty of women in a hazy fantasy world.
What are you working on at the moment?
I’ve just finished tailoring a show piece for the new season, and I’m sitting down at my computer to answer this interview.
Where do you see yourself in the future and how do you think your past will shape that?
My life is bound up with my career, my past and my future will be reflected in the clothes I design.
Chinese translation below!
你是谁？
我是庆文，KINGWEN的创始人和设计师。
为什么是时装而不是其他类型的设计？
因为时装是身体上的可穿戴艺术，我希望通过服装探索人体和织物结构之间的联系。
是什么让时尚对你来说很特别，你从它身上看到了什么力量？
时尚是一种生活方式和态度，我希望当有人穿上我设计的衣服时，他们能得到衣服本身带给他们的自信和快乐。
谁和什么是你的主要参考？为什么？
油画和中国古典神话是我的主要参考。我希望在我的设计中融入东方和西方的色彩融合美学。
凡尔赛宫的灵感来自哪里？凡尔赛宫对你来说代表什么？
凡尔赛宫来自于我童年的法国之行，那是我第一次从中国来到西方国家，凡尔赛宫汇集了许多宏伟的宝藏。对我来说，它是一个可以忘记时间和空间旅行的地方。
当你想象一个和尚走在凡尔赛宫的时候，你有什么感觉？你是如何把这些对比强烈的实体和美学联系起来的？
僧侣长袍的红色与凡尔赛宫闪亮的金色形成了鲜明的对比。我喜欢冲突的矛盾载体。当虚拟和现实结合在一起时，就会有不同的层次和亮度。
你觉得中国文化的哪些元素塑造了你的作品？
中国画中的水感与水墨相融合。中国画注重空白处。很多时候，虽然在空白处什么也没画，但比填满它要好。就像服装一样，有时少即是多。
对你来说，什么是女性气质，它是如何在你的服装上留下印记的？
我认为女性气质是一种浪漫和童话的气息。
谁不希望回到童年？在新一季中，The Spring/Summer 2023系列从宓妃的形象中汲取灵感，宓妃是中国先秦时代的传奇人物，也就是洛水女神。像夕阳中升起的太阳，像从清澈的水中冒出的一朵莲花。像夕阳中升起的太阳一样明亮，像一朵莲花从紧张的波浪中浮现出来一样灼热”。罗女神是东方美学理想的化身。这套作品打算在印象派画家克劳德-莫奈的油画中描绘这位古老的中国女神，目的是用东方的美学来探索西方的想象力。罗女神从中国传统的水墨画中跃出，被水墨和画笔的色彩光晕包裹着，进入莫奈神秘而密集的印象派画作中，像月亮上的轻云或流风回雪一样出现和消失。这个系列继续使用墨色和油画笔触，在一个朦胧的幻想世界里描摹女性的美。
你现在在做什么工作？
我刚刚完成了为新一季量身定做的展示作品，我正坐在电脑前回答这个采访。
你认为自己的未来在哪里，你认为你的过去将如何影响这一点？
我的生活与我的事业息息相关，我的过去和我的未来都将反映在我设计的衣服上。
SOCIALS TO FOLLOW
