Wearing lucky clouds
By Yang Qi
chinadaily.com.cn Staff Writer
Updated: 2008-07-23 13:38
While the Olympic Games are about sports, it is also an opportunity for the host country to present its culture to the world.
And one of the ways to demonstrate this is through clothing members of the host country will wear.
He Yang, an associate professor at the Beijing Institute of Clothing Technology (BICT) is the lead designer of the Chinese Olympic outfits and torchbearer uniforms.
She talked about her experience with Yang Qi of chinadaily.com.cn.
Chinadaily.com.cn: When and how did you get involved in the design of Olympic outfits?
He Yang speaks at the Technology Fashion on Olympic Uniforms Forum at the Beijing Institute of Clothing Technology in this June, 2008 file photo. [chinadaily.com.cn]
He Yang: The Beijing Organizing Committee (BOCOG) launched the 2008 Olympic outfits design project in December 2005. And BOCOG invited three professional institutes – the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, the Academy of Arts and Design at Tsinghua University, and the China Central Academy of Fine Arts to bid for the design scheme.
When and how did BICT's design get approval from the International Olympic Committee (IOC)?
From December 2005, my group had been working on the design of the uniform for BOCOG staff, Beijing Olympic technical officials and volunteers. Our design, featuring lucky clouds, one of the key elements in the image of the Beijing Games, was approved by the BOCOG judging panel in March last year. In late August, the IOC selected our design as the official uniform. The uniforms were unveiled on January 20 to mark the 200-day countdown to the Games.
Did you secure the opportunity to design the Olympic outfits and the torchbearer uniform simultaneously?
No. Actually one thing led to another. After we got word that the IOC approved our Olympic outfits, BOCOG invited us to design the official outfits for the torchbearers in July 2006.
What's your philosophy for the design of torchbearer uniforms?
The design of the uniforms is a vital component of the torch relay image and look. As required by the IOC and the BOCOG, the elements of the uniforms must include the Olympic Rings, the emblem of the Beijing Olympic Games, the logo of the torch relay, the core graphic and color system of the torch relay, and the composite logo of the torch relay sponsors. White, representing peace and purity, should be the base color of the torchbearer uniforms and no commercial symbols are to be included.
What's the artistic concept for the torchbearer uniforms? The outfits have a phoenix design and lucky clouds as well as Chinese red as their main elements and "harmony" as their design concept. The phoenix is the ‘queen of birds' and the symbol of fire in Chinese legends, symbolizing good luck and peace. We also wanted to ensure the integrity of the image of the phoenix, so we decided to put the image of the lucky bird on one of the shoulders. The uniform has short sleeves and a streamlined pattern on one side that gives the impression of a phoenix about to fly.
