"奶奶的爱" (trans: Grandma's love"
When you are 2,786.3 miles away from home you cannot help but feel homesick from time to time. As a Chinese American, I cannot help but miss the food my grandma makes for me, as that is how we show affection in our culture. If Americans say "I Love You" then the Chinese equivalent is asking " Did You Eat?" One food in particular, “Zong Zi” or "Zhong", a glutinous rice dumpling packed with ingredients and enclosed with bamboo leaves and string, strikes home the most. Merging the elements of Zong Zi and the theme of affection, I created a collection illustrating aspects of warmth, wrapping, and culture food encompasses through fashion.
**ALL PHOTOS AND DESIGNS ARE OWNED BY CLAIRE HUANG.
PLAGIARISM/STEALING WILL NOT BE TOLERATED.**
Research and Designs
Brainstorm
Thinking Map 1
Thinking Map 2
Moodboard
Moodboard and Swatches
Prelim Sketches 1
Prelim Sketches 2
Taking the Zong Zi, I dissected its characteristics, ingredients, and color palette to search deeper for profound, underlying meanings and words. The rice dimpling contains many ingredients and is wrapped and enveloped with bamboo leaves and string, so I thought of the concept of "affection and warmth". The fillings and rice reminded me of tweed and wool of earthy and off-white tones. The bamboo leaves inspired many shades of green of different opacities. Lastly, the string inspired lots of bow closure accents. In my preliminary sketches, I created both avante-garde and contemporary designs, but ultimately selected more contemporary and commercial silhouettes. In the final lineup, I drew and selected a standout item in each look for flats.
Final Designs and Flats
