On April 24, 2018 “VGRASS·DHU” 12th Draping Contest kicked off in Donghua University (DHU). After on-site operation and public lectures, 38 sets of entries from 36 institutions werequalifiedfor the dynamicshow on the runway of Greater Donghua Fashion Week on the 25th. Liu Chunhong, Vice President of DHU, participatedintheshow and presented the Gold Award to the winner. Junior Xue Huixin of DHU won the Silver Award of Draping Design and the Bronze Award of Draping Technology.
The theme of this year's contest is White II - China Design.” Entries are not limited to apparel and fabrics, but they must be in full white. The contest emphasizes the embodimentof Chinese cultureandledstudents to tailortheclothingof China in an all-white manner to interpretthebeautyof China and demonstrateculturalconfidence while removingthe stereotypes of “Chinese elements” such as “Chinese Red” and “Chinese motifs.” Xue Huixin selected the Tang Dynasty as a breakthrough for her “Chinese design.” In her workFlourishing Tang, many elements of costume culture in Tang Dynasty were extracted, as well as the roundedprofile of the terra-cotta warriors and the chest styling lines of the chesthighskirts.
Liu Yongmei, one of the organizers and Associate Professor of Fashion • Art Design Institute, said that draping emphasizes the dual integration of art and technology. The contest not only builds a platform for students to practice hands-on skills, but also pays more attention to guiding students to explore the deeper connotationof Chinese spirit. Design is not merely a surface symbol, but also a methodfor inheritance and innovation of Chinese culture. The ergonomic design based on drapingbetterdelivers the concept of “clothing originating from life, giving comfort, and getting us out of bondage.”
Twelveyears have passed since “VGRASS·DHU” drapingcontestwas first held, duringwhich many of the contestants have grown up to be instructors to lead their students to participate in thecontest. Zhang Xinyue, the Gold Award Winner of the 1st Draping Contest, is now a teacherat LuXun Academy of Fine Arts and has led students topartakein the contestfourtimes since 2008. This year she delivered a lectureon “The Overall View of Drapingfor Fashion Design and the Fusion of Art and Technology” in the open lecturehall.
DHU is one of the earliest colleges and universities that incorporated draping into the curriculum education, and it has edited and published the textbook Draping, which was selected as a national-level planning textbook and has provided intellectualsupportfor the development of specialized draping courses for many undergraduate colleges. After more than 30 years of development, the draping course at DHU has evolved from a single course into a course system that now includes undergraduate compulsory courses, electives and graduate professional-oriented courses.
