Light of the Desert
"I went through materials and studied albums... Before visiting Dunhuang, I made the most thorough preparations, thinking my heart would be captivated by the faces of the flying apsaras in the murals or their magnificent stories." As the Shanghai dusk unfolded outside the window, Ms. Grace Tang opened the floodgates of her memories. "When I actually stood in front of the grottoes, what touched me the most were the flowing patterns of silk on the sleeves in the murals—light as a breeze, yet the beauty of those softly moving lines struck me firmly and unexpectedly." This accidental emotional impact from Dunhuang took root in Ms. Grace Tang's perception and became the key for the brand to embark on a cultural exploration journey. The essence of the brocade beauty that people cherished and admired thousands of years ago can still touch us so deeply across time and space.
The Dunhuang Revelation
A Moment of Epiphany About Brocade Beauty
The wonderful driving force behind this journey could not end with just a fleeting shock. Shifting our gaze away from the grand narratives, we turned to those "wordless details" that remain silent yet hold countless stories—such as the tassel accessories recorded on a broken corner of a mural, and the unique patterns on the leggings of Bodhisattvas... Flying apsaras, flying apsaras—were the ancient craftsmen only trying to paint "flying"? What they painted was the light soul of silk dancing in the wind, that otherworldly, almost celestial sense of flow.
It is hard to put this feeling into words. After all, isn't the journey of jewelry creation and design all about remaining forever curious about the composition and expression of "beauty"? Starting from the visual shock of the murals, we, with the dedication of craftsmen, delved into the diverse world of Chinese brocade, where warps and wefts interweave in countless variations.
Exploring Deeper
Shu Brocade: The Nation and Warmth Woven in a Piece of Brocade
A single form cannot satisfy the desire for diverse aesthetics. For many people, their impression of Shu Brocade is either the "inch of brocade equals an inch of gold" mentioned in textbooks or the luxurious decoration in five-star hotels. However, when Ms. Grace Tang began to focus on the world of brocade and flipped through the pages of The Complete Collection of Chinese Brocade on her desk, she came to understand that what truly touches the soul and takes deep root with Shu Brocade is far more than its dazzling craftsmanship.
In Collected Works of Zhuge Liang, it is clearly stated: "Today, the people are poor and the state is weak; the resources to defeat the enemy can only rely on brocade." The concept of "how much a piece of Shu Brocade is worth" was instantly given heavy significance, related to survival and the basic needs of life. At that moment, Shu Brocade transcended the meaning of being a gorgeous garment. Bearing the important responsibility of revitalizing the nation and sustaining the pulse of an era, we developed an unprecedented sense of awe for this small piece of fabric—it embodies the wisdom, perseverance, and creativity of our ancestors.
Even a small piece of ancient Shu Brocade, when unfolded, examined closely, and stroked to feel its texture, is enough to reveal its wonders. The soft, matte luster of the silk threads themselves, along with the specially twisted flat gold and silver threads—when light hits the angles where they bend, it sparkles like twinkling stars, lively and delicate. Suddenly, the source of this familiar feeling became clear: the soft silk threads and hard gemstones are actually parallel in the essence of how they use light to tell stories and convey beautiful intentions! This is the most poetic resonance—both the aesthetic core of brocade and jewelry requires finding the most vivid balance between movement and stillness, light and shadow.
Elevating Creativity
Cross-Border "New" Art Weaving with Gemstones
How to truly achieve a profound resonance that transcends material boundaries? Inspirations collided, countless sketches piled up, and the studio was filled with the atmosphere of thinking and debating. Finally, Ms. Grace Tang decided to extract the soul from the essence of brocade craftsmanship—namely, the structural sense, layering, and flow of light inherent in "weaving" itself. The "Splendor of the Cosmos" necklace we created serves as a bridge to realize "jewelry brocade"—pioneering the development of the unique "Floating Light Setting" technique to "weave", solidify, and replicate that brilliant soul and vital rhythm that exist in the long river of history and between the warps and wefts of Shu Brocade.
Brocade is no longer just a reference for design, but a profound soulful dialogue, an attempt to pay tribute to and reshape one civilization's advanced craftsmanship through another. It goes beyond merely copying surface patterns; it aims to convey the vital power of flowing light and pay tribute to the wisdom and perseverance hidden beneath every stitch—details not fully recorded in historical materials. This is an act of visiting our ancestors and signing solemnly on the spectrum of craftsmanship.
The Embroidery Manual records: "Using needles as brushes, silk fabrics as paper, and silk floss as cinnabar, ink, lead, and yellow pigments." It is the tension of the silk threads, the interweaving of latitudes, and the "just right" tacit cooperation that allow the brocade to still shine faintly after thousands of years.
Grace Tang has precisely captured the "weight of this faint light" and engaged in a dialogue with the ancients across time and space. Meanwhile, we have also gradually become clear: true inheritance begins with reverence and uncompromise towards even the smallest details.
