Tina Guo
The Peking Opera
This collection is inspirited from Peking Opera, one of the Chinese operas. Peking Opera is the most influential opera in China. It spreads all over the country and is known as the "national opera". Peking Opera is based on the gender, personality, age, occupation, and social status of the role played, with some artistic exaggeration in various aspects of makeup and clothing. The technical terms of these four types in Peking Opera are called "Xing Dang".In Peking Opera, face painting uses colours and lines to form various patterns to symbolize the character and quality of the characters. The costumes of traditional dramas are collectively referred to as "Xing Tou", which retains the characteristics of Chinese dynasty costumes. Among many Chinese opera performance arts, Peking opera occupies an extremely important position, and it is also the most dramatic variety that can express the essence of traditional Chinese art in the exchange and introduction of foreign opera. Peking Opera costumes are divided into four main categories, these outfits are worn according to the character's identity and roles. There is no limitation of time, region, or season. A set of outfits can usually be worn in different situations. That is to say, the same set of headlines in different plays, each performing different roles. Inspired by Peking Opera, focusing on the silhouettes, patterns, and the embellishment of Peking Opera. At the same time, combined with a Western fashion to create interesting and novel designs. I will be taking Huadan and Daomadan as the main design concepts. Huadan is a role-player in traditional Chinese opera. For the image of a young or middle-aged woman, her personality is optimistic, vigorous, self-confident, and loves freedom. Daomadan is a kind of horn-style name in Chinese opera. It is specifically responsible for performing characters such as "female officer" and is belonging to Dan characters. Daomadan is a heavy-duty work role, known for its imposing expression. Therefore, in this collection, the costume silhouette, dragon pattern, traditional patterns and opera elements of Peking Opera will be used to express the strong self-confidence and momentum of women. The colours of the collection will be taken from the colours of the costumes and face painting worn by the actors of the Peking Opera. I’ll be using solid colours for the main garments of this collection, combining bold and bright colours as embellishments, bringing a visual impact to the overall garments.