On Saturday the Cornell Fashion Collective hosted Cornell Couture Night with Laurence Xu. Laurence Xu is one of the most prominent designers in China, having his work on the runways of New York, Paris, and Milan. He blends together the Chinese mythological tales and historical stories of his childhood with Western culture. By combining the silhouettes and motifs of both Chinese traditional dress and Western couture, he creates a unique kind of harmony.
In his work he uses one of the world’s most expensive fabrics: Nanjing yunjin. One of the rarest fabrics, the most experienced artisan can only create three inches a day. Xu explained that the fabric uses gold and silver thread and the feathers and furs of the most beautiful animals. Not only is it beautiful, but its softness rivals a cloud. We were all lucky enough to have the opportunity to see the dresses up close and to touch the fabric and embroidery.
My favorite dress was the green fur dress. It was made of eagle down and it reminded me of little red riding hood if she wore green. After shyly asking the model, I was able to touch the fur and it was absolutely the softest thing I’ve touched in my life.
The entire night was wonderful, albeit rainy. I attended the event with some of my fellow brothers in APO Gamma and we had a blast. It was a great day to dress up, hang out with some of the girls, and learn about Chinese culture and fashion. I feel incredibly lucky, and I’m so glad that I go to Cornell because I get to do cool things like this.
I think that after this I’m hooked. I’ll definitely try to go to more fashion events around campus!
What do you guys do around your universities to get in touch with your inner fashionista? Seriously, tell me! I want to get some ideas for myself, too. 🙂
See you guys soon,
Jamu
jamiesque 