A Chinese reality show was shot in Suzhou recently, on which stars put on delicate wedding dresses featuring Suzhou embroidery. The dresses, with patterns such as peonies, lotuses, and windows of Suzhou classical gardens made with various stitches, have wowed audiences and gone viral online.
Yao Lan, daughter of "Queen of Suzhou embroidery" Yao Jianping and a young inheritor of the craft, showed us the exhibition area of Suzhou embroidery on the show.
Yao Lan
With origins stretching back more than 2,000 years, Suzhou embroidery was one of China's four famous embroidery techniques and recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage for detailed needlework, beautiful patterns, and consummate craftsmanship. Over the years, the craft has developed a complete set of knowledge and skills associated with rearing of silkworms, silk harvesting, designing, weaving and embroidering.
Suzhou embroidery
In recent years, the handmade, customized Suzhou embroidery dresses have increasingly gained popularity. Many newlyweds, and sometimes their parents, prefer to have dresses featuring Suzhou embroidery. In addition to continuing classic styles, Yao Lan has made innovative steps to give a fresh look to fine dresses in the Suzhou-style embroidery.
Couture wedding gown handmade by Yao Lan's team
"To provide individually tailored dresses, we are flexible to the requirements of customers so long as they don't deviate too much from tradition. For example, besides red, there are many color choices including blue and golden that also symbolize good luck in Chinese culture," said Yao.Yao is also proud that her mother's creations were chosen as state gifts, including Lady Cuju Picture collected by Olympic Museum, a portrait of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip collected by Buckingham Palace, and Joy is Overflowing presented to the Spanish royal family.
Yao Jianping
Lady Cuju Picture
The incredible thing of Suzhou embroidery is that it can show the light and shadow like in photographing and creates vivid effects with perspectives and levels of details, according to Yao.
