Sashes of Time

Description

The world was a very connective, vibrant, and culturally diverse place some 1,000 years ago. Globalisation created cultural fusions which are documented in the fashion history. We want to retain a piece of that in our everyday wear, to remember and appreciate that special period and its legacy.  The colours of the sashes were also taken from the popular colours of the period.

We are not fashion designers looking to change the world of fashion, or the world. We are just a group of women interested in how fashion gives voices to women in history and documents the history of the world they lived in.

We would like to own things that are simple, accessible and meaningful, and would like to build a community with it. The sash is a baby step towards it, and we have a few other things that we hope to be able to continue developing such as dual-side sashes, simple buckle sashes, matching tops, jackets, pants etc.

We want a versatile accessory that does both the job of enhancing your entire look with just a touch of colour, and one that is imbued with history of the ancient world.

This sash motif is based on an artefact in the collection of the Shosoin Repository in Nara, Japan (https://shosoin.kunaicho.go.jp/en-US/treasures?id=0000012075&index=201) dating to around the 8th century CE. This period corresponds to the Chinese Tang dynasty, and was a period of great internationalisation and cultural exchanges in the ancient world. The Shosoin collection holds one of the most important collections from that period which tells the history of the cosmopolitan world.

The floral motif arranged in a mandala shape is also an influence from India, while the flower motifs and their arrangements were evolved from Chinese and Central Asian aesthetic traditions.

The design is available in two complementary colours for Kickstarter 100 as a set, so you can match all the colours in your wardrobe easily. Even if you only have black and white, either of these colours are sure to bring that extra spark to your entire look.

The sashes are available in various lengths, and like the men’s tie, you can secure it however you like. We will have a basic video instruction on how to do the simplest tie, and some ideas on how you can match different types of wardrobe.

Pan Pan (Hanfugirl, founder of Hanfugirls Collective): The original Hanfugirl (@hanfugirl on Instagram), Pan Pan was born in China, trained as a visual artist, and now lives in Singapore. Pan Pan uses her experience and training to make her research relevant to the Chinese diaspora and anyone interested in Chinese culture and fashion. In 2019, Pan Pan started the Hanfugirls Collective, an all-female arts collective that collaboratively researches on the neglected, female aspects of Chinese culture and turns the research into lectures and performances. Through their work, Hanfugirl and the Hanfugirls Collective help to make Chinese culture and history relevant and accessible through an online community.

What we’ve discovered through our work is that history consists of cultures that interact with one another. Chinese culture was influenced by, and also influenced, many other cultures around the region and we hope that our sashes are a reminder of the wonderfully interconnected nature of our world.