" I think that every bit of clothing, from color to fabric to material, affects the behavior of the person wearing it."
Milly Huang
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Historical Research, Fashion Design
KE Zhang: Would you like to share with us how do you begging to be interested in Fashion design in the first place?
Milly Huang: For me, it was because I used to make clothes for Barbie dolls with paper or other materials when I was a child. Over time, beautiful clothes began to attract me. When making professional choices, I felt that, unlike other mediums, clothing is an art that can be easily integrated into everyone's life. Different from painting or sculpture, clothing is an art that everyone faces, chooses, touches, and feels with their bodies every day. I think that every bit of clothing, from color to fabric to material, affects the behavior of the person wearing it. So I think it will be very interesting that clothing can integrate the thinking of the artist and communicate and interact with the wearer.
Historical Research, Fashion Design
KE Zhang: Would you like to talk a little bit about how do you usually start a project?
Milly Huang: In the beginning, I would be more inclined to satisfy the curiosity and needs of other people, because at that time I thought that clothing was for other people, so I would start from the perspective of other people, or what the society is concerned about. project. But then finding out that something like this lacks my own ideas can lead to my inspiration drying up or my dissatisfaction with the final product. Later, I began to reflect and felt that at least part of it should start with myself. I gradually began to start from what I knew and points of interest. During the research process, I found other people who had the same idea as me. During the research process, consider society's concerns, reactions, and possible solutions to this matter. Under such circumstances, I like what I do, and I think other people will be touched by this kind of work.
Sustainability, Fashion Design
KE Zhang: Would you like to share with us how you use materials and design approaches to reflect social issues you want to engage?
Milly Huang: First of all, in terms of design, the society we live in now is showing an increasingly inclusive trend towards diversity. In terms of design, based on my own aesthetics, I try to increase diversity as much as possible. In terms of size, based on everyone's tolerance for the body, I will also reflect diversity in my design. For example, the oversize that can accommodate everybody will also meet the needs of some people for self-cultivation styles. Second, I'll add variety to colors, breaking down stereotypes like black is for men and pink is for women and the stereotype that men don't care about how they dress. When designing, we will consider adding some styles that both men and women can wear.
In the sustainability project, I looked at what would happen if plastic could be recycled. During the epidemic, because I received a lot of express delivery, I also collected a lot of plastic packaging for express delivery, which made me feel some "guilt". So I also started to try to use these scraps as materials for the sustainability project. I found that plastic, as a direct medium in clothes, will actually put a lot of pressure on the human body, because plastic does not dissipate heat, and it will always wrap water in the clothes, which will restrict people's movements. When making this plastic garment, I needed to sew by hand since there was no way to get the plastic through the sewing machine. At the same time for firmness, I chose z-stitching. In the process of sewing, I feel that this kind of sewing is very similar to medical sewing, and my hands will hurt a lot, which also reminds me of the responsibility and pressure on sustainability as a designer. Environmental problems arise from the process of sending the exhaust gas.
During my research, I was lucky enough to find a company that recycles plastic waste from Haiti. Haiti can now be said to be the world's garbage dump because garbage from many developed countries will be transported here, which has greatly affected the lives of local residents under the sea. The company would recycle the plastic, process it, break it down into pellets, re-weave it back into the thread, and then weave it back into clothing. I think the use of recycled resources is something that mass brands should pay attention to at present, and I also think that this will be a topic that everyone in the design industry will pay attention to in the future.
Heavy Duty, Fashion Design
KE Zhang: Would you like to share with us the story behind the very impressive project “Heavy Duty”?
Milly Huang: This project needs to start from the project of historical research. At that time, the teacher's request was to study a historical figure, and the dress requirements, characteristics, and social conditions of this figure at that time. I chose it at the time… the youngest daughter of the last generation of the Yellow Emperor in Tsarist Russia. The story caught the attention of many people in Europe at the time, because the princess was underage when she was executed, and it was rumored at the time that she escaped the execution and went to her relatives. Although this rumor was disproved by later research, there are still many people who believe it to be true because they want her to escape the death penalty. I was very intrigued by the story and recreated one of the princess' gowns and then gave it a modern twist.
Going back to my starting point for clothing project design, when I do clothing design, I hope to use my collection to stimulate the audience's thinking, rather than give an exact answer. One question that kept lingering on my mind while working on this project was who do people tend to pity more? It is a very pitiful thing for this princess to be executed because of her family's parents when she was not of age; but at the same time I also think that in Hugo's Les Miserables it was mentioned that Louis XV's grandson died, but at the same time there were very How many innocent children died of starvation under Louis XV, who will pity them? This also reminds me that under the rule of Tsarist Russia, many innocent children died painfully under the rule of Tsarist Russia. This made me realize that children with different identities bear different but heavy responsibilities and misfortunes. As I mentioned in the sustainability project about the pressures facing designers, the combination of the two made me realize that our generation is carrying a lot of pressure and responsibility, and this is the beginning of this project.
Heavy Duty, Fashion Design
INTERVIEWER: KE ZHANG
CURATOR: KE ZHANG, WANTONG YAO
EDITOR: WANTONG YAO, KE ZHANG
GRAPHIC DESIGNER: VIVI SHEN
Milly Huang is a BFA from SAIC and a fashion designer. When practicing Fashion Design, she usually explores and discusses the issues and relationships between different people, individuals, and society. Then she incorporates them into the design, like various silhouettes and color usage in the garments, to evoke people to think about them.