8 . Everyday wear like casual shirts,T-shirts, and jackets, embroidered (刺绣)with traditional patterns from the Yi ethnic group, staged a striking show at recent New York Fashion Week, which took place on September 4th. Chinese designer Wang Ta’s new youth collection, decorated with Yi embroidery, a Chinese intangible cultural heritage, was a definite hit on the last night of the fashion week.

The audience was amazed by both the beautiful and mostly hand-embroidered colorful patterns and the perfect balance of modern and traditional elements. Leah Coulter, a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, who dressed the models for the show, said the collection was a mix of old and new and loved all the patterns and embroidery, which aroused her interest in the unique handicraft dating back thousands of years. “I need to learn more about its history,” Coulter said.

It’s not something new in the fashion world to involve China’s intangible cultural heritages as elements of design, Wang said, but ifs not easy to make them into true fashion. “Intangible cultural heritages should not always be displayed in museums or only appear on souvenirs. I hope to break the stereotype through using the Yi embroidery and make them everyday, fashionable items,”Wang told the media after the show. “I think fashion is the best way to introduce culture”

Wang’s design ideas can be traced back to both her global experience as a fashion designer in Japan, the UK and China, and her unique educational background. Before receiving her second degree in fashion from Japan’s top fashion institute Tokyo Mode Gakuen, she majored in history at East China Normal University in Shanghai.

In order to create her collection, Wang and her team went to Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture (自治州)in southwest China’s Yunnan Province and deeply studied the culture and history of   Yi’s craftsmanship to gain insight into the essence, delicacy and symbolism of   Yi embroidery. But Wang’s employing the patterns, colors and techniques of   Yi embroidery in her contemporary fashion designs is not a simple imitation. The combination of modern and traditional parts can’t be too striking for it to be widely accepted as everyday wear, Wang said, adding that her goal is for people, regardless of gender, color or nationality, to like her designs.