Ye Xian

I drafted all the hanfu pieces from scratch based on historical shapes and my own measurements. I tried to use secondhand materials wherever possible: the ombre fabric of the top and the sequined panels of the fish tail appliqués were cut from old theater costumes, the fabric for the camisole, skirt, and cape were all lucky thrift store finds, the panels of the overskirt were cut from remnants of my college curtains, the cape lining fabrics were pieced from friends' destashes, and even the sequins and pearls were craft supplies that my mom saved for decades. Working with such limited yardage, I had to be careful cutting pieces to still get the luxuriously voluminous look. I also had to constantly adjust either my machine settings, needles, and hand-sewing tension to accommodate the less-than-ideal tightness of the curtain weave and the spandex content of the cape appliqués, or to avoid snagging the lurex of the gold trim. The sequins and beads on the fish were sewn on individually by hand, and the figures on the cape hand-basted before sewing on the gold trim. I also tried hand-couching vintage metallic yarn for the first time, and flame finishing the edges of the poly-organza overskirt panels for an organic look. I felled in the cape lining by hand, a time-consuming process I only completed the morning of the photoshoot, but I'm glad I didn't compromise because I love the look of hand-finishing.