Last month, WildChina received a request from one of Brazil’s top fashion designers whichdefinitely got a few ooohs and ahhs out of our office.
Expecting the request to be filled with high-end dining experiences at M on the Bund in Shanghai (delicious) and behind the scenes art tours with WildChina art expert Kat Don in Beijing’s top galleries, WildChina was delighted to learn that this fashion designer had a taste for adventure and exploration. At present, a planned summer 2012 journey to explore Guizhou’s embroidery culture will aim to inspire this designer’s next line of clothing!
For those in the know, Guizhou is an absolute must for collectors of China’s fabric handicrafts. Brightly colored, hand-made and varied depending on the region, WildChina feel this is one of the great places in China to pick up high-end goods that are distinctive and cannot be found anywhere else. No matter where you travel in Guizhou– from the smaller villages in Leishan County or the capital of Guiyang, the quality and fabrics are extraordinary.
Earlier this year, Patti Waldmeir of The Financial Times traveled with WildChina. Before her trip, Waldmeir also noted that “All the guidebooks drone on about the intricate embroidery and elaborate hairstyles of Guizhou’s many ethnic minorities…. But that was before I met Xiao Zesheng, our WildChina guide – a Guizhou native with no more tolerance for counterfeit culture than I have. He marched us off through the rice fields – balancing precariously on narrow dikes separating paddies of mud and dung and water – right into the farmyards and courtyards of villages apparently untouched by much technical innovation since the water buffalo. In the process, he showed us plenty of traditional embroidery and elaborate hairstyles but they were all worn by women chopping wood and planting rice fields.”
WildChina recently launched our cross-border Cityscapes & Countrysides: An Intimate Look at China and Vietnam, which starts in Beijing, travels down to Southwest China in Guizhou and then into Vietnam. While the purpose of the trip is not solely devoted to learning about China & Vietnam’s embroidery traditions, there will be plenty of opportunities to see the traditional methods of creating these local textiles and crafts.
We have our eyes peeled on the Brazilian fashion scene for influences in Guizhou’s local embroidery.
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Have Guizhou on your travel radar in the near future? Good! The Sister’s Meal Festival is taking place this year from April 5-7. Now is the time to arrange all bookings before it is too late…
Looking for a longer format cross border trip? Cityscapes & Countrysides: An Intimate Look at China and Vietnam is a fantastic new product WildChina launched in collaboration with fellow Condé Nast Top Travel Specialist Journeys Within. Beginning in Beijing and traveling south to Guizhou, this journey takes you across the border into Vietnam where you will continue exploring ethnic minority communities– and take in some incredible sights in Hanoi.
