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Dutch fashion designer Els Beusen is working in Guangzhou currently together with local Chinese fashion students to set up a whole collection made of ecological fabrics.
Els keeps a weblog for Made in Mirrors. Every week she informs us on her day to day experience in Guangzhou.
www.somtinels.com
Guangzhou City Report II
Herewith an update on the last week / 10 days...
After Elaine had left we immediately focused on the designs we had been planning on creating since the moment we got inspired by the people and places surrounding us in Guangzhou city. One of the things I am inspired by here directly are a certain kind of local mob, yes, really, mobs.
Hiroaki was already touched by the presence of a person in Cunion bar the first night after his arrival. Since this person still remains unidentified for us Hiroaki has decided to present the piece he wanted to create for this person on himself instead like me on a model. I was very lucky the other week, when Elaine and Milo were with us, to meet an amazing inspiring person in a local restaurant. Thanks to Milo’s persuading abilities he was able to convince this woman to cooperate in a photo shoot... And so to make this happen on Thursday last week, we had to work like horses to get our pieces done! Thursday morning (having not slept Wednesday night) we were ready to go. At 9,00 Hiroaki me and two people for hair and make up were waiting for Ms. Zheng... And waiting and waiting... And getting nervous...;-) finally after having spoken to her on the phone a few time later she arrived, what a site for sore eyes that was...
She appeared to be a lot different then I expected from her appearance in the restaurant. Nevertheless she worked out fabulously. In the apartment she transformed magically and during the whole process she never made any difficulties on the way she was dressed or the things we asked her to do.
Even Alex So, the photographer form Cold Tea and his team where impressed by her qualities. It has been an amazing experience to be able to work with Ms. Zheng and the Cold-Tea family. After having done this successfully the next shoot did not really go as expected. Fortunately Hiroaki had some other crazy plans that we also wanted to realize the same day so we soon focused on that. Next morning we were expected at the Agricultural University to start the workshop. We had expected to be able to prepare our presentation and other things we needed to do there alone... When we arrived all students had been waiting for us already and we immediately got started all together... the more the merrier... no? ;-) We started taking pictures of all the garments we had asked the students to bring and presented our work later that afternoon.
After having discussed the contents of the workshop and the program for the next few days we called it a night. For we had still some other business to take care of...
Yes, preparing a home cooked meal for Alex, Sue and Dave... what service that is!
We had an old school fun evening with folding paper airplanes and racing each other with toy horses.
The next two days of the workshop we focused on a creative design process with the students. Although they are not used to the concept of recycled clothes or real vintage wear, they brought clothing they were not going to wear anymore as we requested to be able to use in our design process. They soon got really excited and even went around some dormitories with Hiroaki to ask students to donate pieces they would not wear anymore... with an amazing results... piles, bags, many many clothes.
We have had an amazing experience so far with the students. Mainly thanks to Nikita Choi, the former fashion editor I had met the first week after my arrival who has been so kind to be our guide and translator to the whole process of the workshop.
Her inside position has made it easier for us to communicate with the students and really connect to them on a different level. It has enriched the dept and levels this workshop has been able to extend to. This week Thursday afternoon we will meet the students again at their department to discuss the process, see any progress they might have made and have a little presentation of the results.
The rest of this week we will be finishing up everything we still have to and want to see or do here in Guangzhou city!! It is going to be a strange experience again to leave this city and the amazing people we have met behind...
For now this was it again, maybe until a last update very soon...
Best... * Els.
"For anybody who can read Dutch and would like to know more about my Guangzhou city adventures, please feel free to visit www.somtinels.waarbenjij.nu."