A playful attitude - Yi Ding
Yi Ding, a talented fashion designer who is truly devoted to the “art” of fashion and this is extremely inspirational. A fresh vision and an interesting concept will make you see a new way of conceiving fashion itself.
When did you realize fashion design would be your future?
When I was a little girl, I really liked to dress my mother’s clothes and play them with different ways.
For me, being a fashion designer is the dream since I was young. I like to create fabrics, when I see I’ve finished a complete collection, I have a sense of achievement and feel full of energy to continue to think to the next project.
And I'm picky about choosing my clothes.
When I was shopping before, I couldn't find the clothes that felt 100% suitable for myself, this made me more determined to become a fashion designer. I even seldom used the ready-made fabrics in the store, and I preferred creating materials by myself.
For me it’s a better way to show my identity such as work from zero to complete.
What's the concept of your latest collection?
The concept of my latest collection comes from the Memphis furnitures of Ettore Sottsass:
I wanna build an happy and childish world to encourage women to leave a small space for their childness, even in this fast society, everyone told us that women should be strong, it’s better to hide our feelings, try to become a mature adult. My design is like a refuge for the people who feel tired in their life routine. They could choose to live in the moment wearing dresses and showing themselves in a playful attitude, and do not care about others opinion.
What inspires you the most?
Well, my inspiration comes from a lot of things. The previous moods, art works, film and recently I tried to explore some deep phenomenon in society and daily life (the things that often occur but are easily ignored)
How does the place you live in affect your design?
I live in Florence, it’s a really beautiful, silent and romantic city which has profound accumulation of art history. I started my fashion design course 4 years ago and I could always feel the city bringing some fresh ideas to my mind. Also, the life I live, the galleries and exhibitions I am involved, the little forest that I passed when I went to school, the unique fabrics that I find in vintage shops and street markets. All the memories and fragments made me, I also certainly understand my direction in daily thinking and continuous learning.
What's the future of fashion, according to you?
The future of fashion should be innovative, based on the duty of society, sustainable development, combining traditional technology and new thinking, also could be the collaboration with others fields.
Encouraging more people to understand the story behind creators and helping them to take part in fashion, without blindly following the trend, being the way they like.
What's your next project?
My next project is to complete my graduation’s works. It includes different techniques: original digital printing, knitting (manual machine and electronic machine), embroidery...
It’s an interesting project which inspiration starts in our daily life, aims to use a humorous and lovely way to explore a part of mental phenomena in society, encouraging people to accept the faults of themselves.