Clothing is not only something to be looked at; it can also allow the wearer to see themselves more clearly. For me, design begins with the cultures and things I encounter in everyday life, gradually searching for ways to translate them into clothing. I am drawn to the confidence and joy that clothing can bring. Perhaps fashion does not need to pursue anything more than allowing someone, when they put it on, to feel more at ease being themselves. To me, that is the most beautiful relationship between clothing and the person who wears it.
Final Year Graduate Student
RUO-YI SUNG
Title
The Wanderer Between Spaces
Description
A Traveler Gathering Fragments begins with the experience of searching for cultural identity. I place myself in the role of a traveler moving through an unfamiliar culture, collecting fragments from memories I have never fully known and redrawing them into a cultural map of my own.
The concept of cherishing the old serves as a connection to Hakka culture. Worn garments from everyday life are used as the primary material, preserving their original colors, signs of wear, and traces of use. The garments are cut into fabric pieces of different sizes, then reconstructed through patchwork, layering, and linear graphic stitching, transforming discarded clothing into a new textile surface.
The color palette centers on indigo, gray-blue, and ochre yellow, echoing the humble and practical character associated with traditional Hakka indigo clothing, while the original colors of the garments create a visual dialogue between the old and the new. After the patchwork is completed, traditional botanical indigo dyeing is applied. Fabrics from different origins gradually develop variations in tone during the dyeing process while ultimately becoming unified within the same color family.
The garment structures continue the concept of “space”, using layers, openings, and offset silhouettes to express the state of a traveler moving between searching, staying, and moving forward. Ultimately, discarded fragments regain a new form, while incompleteness becomes a cultural identity that can be worn and seen.
Awards
✱ KERAIA Liyu Tsai Design Director Special Award
SCFD Prêt-à-porter Graduate Show
