Women's attire from the Tang Dynasty is distinctive. This is due to the fact that individuals freely pursue their unique preferences and exquisite beauty. Also, such aesthetics profit from the extremely liberal mindset and cultural setting, which significantly lessens the constraints on women. Women have greater leeway in their clothing choices, allowing them to express their unique personalities by showcasing their bodies or dressing.
"Satire on Fair Ladies" is an excerpt from the dance drama "Du Fu." This dance drama is based on a poem by Du Fu that shows the ladies on a trip in spring. They are dressed in gorgeous costumes and enjoy glory and wealth. But in fact, the story takes place at the end of the Tang Dynasty, a period that the regime was about to collapse. Therefore, Yang chose a fabric as fragile as paper to show the turbulence of that era.
"Each of the ladies has a fascinating face, their skin is delicate, their manner full of grace. Embroidered with peacocks and unicorns in gold, their dress in rich silks shines so bright when spring is old," reads a Chinese poem by Du Fu. This poem reveals the scandal of the rulers by describing the excursions of the beautiful ladies.
"Du Fu was a famous poet in the Tang Dynasty. His poems also have a strong sense of realism, so we used a paper-like fabric to convey that. This fabric is very thin and easily broken, which expresses the fragile character of this era," Yang added. The fragile paper also resembles these ladies, who have no idea of the coming turmoil.
When designing the costumes, Yang frequented numerous museums with his team, looking for features of that historical period to provide inspiration for the clothing and food worn and consumed by the various characters. But there was also creative interpretation involved to some extent. "We take historical facts into consideration and also add some innovation to our designs," he said.
Yang believes that costumes are designed for a specific time and character to cover up and convey a belief to the audience. "Clothes are a representation of culture worn on our body. What we were looking for is the essence of traditional culture," Yang said.
He also felt that clothes witnessed the process of our humanity, especially in China. Traditional Chinese culture has a long history of 5,000 years, and clothing carries the memory and heritage of human beings. "I hope these artworks that are full of traditional Chinese culture can be widely shared so that everyone can feel the beauty of our culture," Yang added.
