Songjiang designer revives, embellishes native homespun

Gu Chenlu is bringing the old Songjiang homespun back to life. The first time she saw those primitive yet dynamic fabrics, the fashion design major sensed infinite possibilities from the traditional handcraft passed down for generations.

"As a Songjiang native, I felt a strong connection with the homespun after I learned about the district's weaving history and culture," she said, recalling the visit to the Songjiang Homespun Museum, which greatly inspired and enlightened her.

Songjiang is known as the hometown of Huang Daopo (1245-1330), a pioneer in China's early textile industry, who improved the techniques of weaving and spinning fiber, and passed her three decades of weaving experience on to Songjiang women, enabling villagers to make suits and fine silk clothing at home.

Weaving was a means of livelihood for women in ancient times to bring home the bacon, but nowadays it's a fashion element when added to modern designs in a proper, artistic way.

Gu's accessory series "12 Flora Gods" was a real success that put her name among the elite in the city's design industry. Each brooch, pendant, earrings and necklace is homespun woven and embroidered into a flower – its stamen inlaid with gems, and the petals inset with crystals layer by layer.

Songjiang homespun cloth is precious today. As a handcraft passed down from mouth to mouth without written records, few people can weave. To cherish each inch of the fabrics, Gu first started with some leftover materials she had collected.

Different from silky, glossy satin, the homespun with primitive colors, rough texture and dynamic patterns added a more rugged beauty to the textile.

"It's a return from the sophisticated to the simple," Gu noted. "It's the same with a life philosophy that I believe in, that is, learn when to hold fast and when to let go."

Though old-fashioned, the homespun fabric is very stylish from a current perspective. It varies in patterns, styles and colors. The patterns include twill, triangular arrowhead, wicker, plaid and flower. With indigo blue as its major color, the homespun also has red, pink, white or green.

Most of them kept to this day are collected from old locals, some fabrics dating back a century ago.

Gu found blue had its limitations when making the accessories. Thus she started learning herbal dyeing to give more colors to the fabrics.

"At the beginning, I had no idea how to make the 12 Flora Gods. However, the inspiration just popped up when I was doing it. And I was greatly enchanted," Gu said.

The accessory series was picked as a "Shanghai Gift" last year by the Shanghai Administration of Culture and Tourism.

She also learned woolen embroidery, three-dimensional embroidery and silk flower, and tried combining these traditional hand skills to her modern design.

"There's been a nationalistic fashion craze among the young generation in recent years. We can see more people wearing traditional Chinese robes, hairstyles and accessories in public," Gu said. "This is a good sign, and also requires us designers to get on this trend by adding traditional elements in an artistic way yet with a modern feel."

Since last year, Gu has been invited as a guest teacher to take lessons on needlework in Minle Primary School.

"The kids are so crazy about what I'm doing. They wow and often push me aside to see my works," she said, laughing. "I'm happy they love it, and at the same time, I feel obliged to teach them everything I know."

The herbal dyeing technique led her into a brand new world of natural aroma, which opened a new chapter in her life as an aromatherapist.

She studied herbal plants and knew their characteristics by heart. Vetiver, for example, has a great adaptability both in barren land and soil of strong acid or strong alkali. With its well-developed root system, the herb can help improve soil quality. It matures in six months, and high-quality essential oil can be extracted after 18 months.

"I appreciate vetiver," Gu said. "And I hope I could be vetiver, not erratic or impetuous, with my root deeply down to earth."