2010
Acrylic, ink and 23 ¾ Carat gold leaf on paper
29.7 x 21 cm

Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 AD) was one of the most affluent and liberal golden ages in Chinese history. Art, literature and architecture were at their height. Its cultural influence extended to its neighbouring countries such as Japan, Korea and Vietnam.
The Capital city of Chang’an (present day Xian) was the most highly populated and cosmopolitan metropolis in the world at the time. People from all over the world came to it from along the Silk Road and by sea. As much as China influenced other countries, it was itself open to external influences. Buddhism from India became one of the main religions in China.
There were trends in foreign imports, The Persian game of Polo became hugely popular among men as well as women. With the influences of the first Empress Regnant Wu Zetian, Women’s social rights and status became incredibly liberal for the period. Chang’an was also the fashion capital of East Asian influencing foreign courts, and at the same time, clothes and textiles from Persia, India and Central Asia also became fashionable. Wearing Central Asian styled men’s suits were a fashionable unisex style worn by many women. The law to force women to wear veiled hats to promote decency while traveling were ignored by women who favoured fashion. Instead, women started wearing men’s riding clothes and boots.

2010
Acrylic, ink and 23 ¾ Carat gold leaf on paper

2010
Acrylic, ink, silver leaf and 23 ¾ Carat gold leaf on paper
29.7 x 21 cm

The heyday of the British East India Company was a liberal and multi-cultural period in Indian history before the less tolerant unsympathetic Victorian era.
India seemed romantic and mysterious. Many British admired Indian cultures, Warren Hastings, the first Governor-General of India so admired Indian cultures he decided to ban British missionaries to maintain India’s institutions. Many British in India were amenable to Indian religions and adopted local traditions and clothing. There were also intermarriages between Indians and the British.
At the same time, Britain became a much more colourful place. its fashion, design, music, food and decorative styles were increasingly influenced by India. Fashionable British women wore Indian shawls and gowns made from Indian materials.

2010
Acrylic, ink and 23 ¾ Carat gold leaf on paper
29.7 x 21 cm

After Japan was opened up to trade with Western nations. The long period of isolation ended and The Meiji government decided to transform Japan into a modern industrialised country to compete with the West. Japan adopted Western political and military institutions. It rose to become a world power.
Japanese’s curiosity and interests of learning about the outside world grew. Imports from the West were in demand. Western styled clothing and accessories started creeping into Japanese fashion. Men started wearing Western hats with Kimono and Women began to wear Western corseted gowns made from Japanese materials. It was an interesting mix of East and West.
In turn, Japanese prints, textiles and ceramics became popular in the West, it began to influence Western art, it was the root of the Art Nouveau movement.

2010
Acrylic, ink and 23 ¾ Carat gold leaf on paper
29.7 x 21 cm

Paris in the late nineteen century was the centre of all things Japanese. Japanese goods were introduced to Western Europe at international exhibitions. Ukiyo-e, Japanese woodblock prints were the most popular form of Japanese art. Japonism had a great influence on artists in Europe. It transformed the look of art, fashion and architecture. With its organic lines and motifs, it provided inspiration for the Art Nouveau movement that was in style all over the world.
Japanese textiles also found their way to European fashion. Fashionable European women had kimonos made into European styled gowns. Elaborate Japanese fans made to suit Western taste for the European markets were a popular choice of accessory.

2010
Acrylic, ink and 23 ¾ Carat gold leaf on paper
29.7 x 21 cm

Paris had been the fashion capital of Europe for centuries. This time, it brought the world something decadently romantic. Orientalism was a movement that also drew inspirations from the East, but this time was a meting pot of Chinese, Indian, Japanese and the Middle Eastern influences. Orientalism influenced fashion in a big way, in a way it was the beginning of the liberation of women from the restrictions of corset. It was revolutionary in Western fashion at the time. Tightly corseted shapes were replaced by loosely fitted silhouette inspired by Far Eastern clothing. Turbans inspired by the Middle East an India were also fashionable.

2010
Acrylic, ink and 23 ¾ Carat gold leaf on paper
29.7 x 21 cm

At the turn of the last century European styles started creeping in to Chinese fashion due to the increase of Western power. Modern women in major cities such as Shanghai began to adopt European styled accessories and hairstles.
1930s Shanghai was a bustling cosmopolitan metropolis. With its international concessions, brought in new ideas and goods from all over the world and openness to anything new. Fashionable women wore Western clothing as well as Chinese Qipao in Western silhouettes and art deco printed fabrics.
Qipao or Cheongsam was a modern modification of the Ching dynasty Manchu robe and the gentlemen’s scholar robe. In the early 1920s, women university students started wearing Men’s scholar robes as an act of feminism, ironically its later Western silhouetted adaptations and evolution became the ultra feminine qipao.
Western influences in China led to ever changing shapes in Chinese fashion, The shape of qipao and the choice of materials harmoniously evolved according to Western trends.

2010
Acrylic, ink, silver leaf and 23 ¾ Carat gold leaf on paper
29.7 x 21 cm

In the early 1980s avant-garde Japanese designers such as Yamamoto Yohji, Kawakubo Rei with their innovative approach to clothes making debuted in Paris. The controversial ‘Boro look’ (ragged look) received a highly regarded recognition internationally. It questioned the traditional Western glamorous approach to fashion, and its philosophical, conceptual and mathematical vision changed the way we look at fashion. It was a groundbreaking and radical turning point in modern Fashion. These designers’ avant-garde unstructured and deconstructed designs and intellectual philosophy later played an essential role in influencing Belgian designers to create another avant-garde sensation in fashion in the coming years such as Martin Margiela and Ann Demeulemeester.