Meet GFF International Talent, Jialing Ying from Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology in China. Her final year collection is inspired by the novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” by Philip K. Dick, which examines class, technology and power structures. Read on to learn more about Jialing’s collection and her plans for after graduation.
Contact Jialing Ying:
Email: 784731507@qq.com
Tell us about you, where are you from, what lead you to fashion and choosing that course?
I'm from Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, and I'm studying womenswear design. The first time I became interested in fashion was in junior high school, my idol influenced me deeply. He was passionate about fashion and art, and his matching clothing showed me the possibilities of producing "beauty". There is no boundary between beauty and ugliness; rather, fashion is the openness to different ideas instead of flattering the public.
When we express our personality through fashion, it can sometimes be more powerful than language, so I want to study a major related to fashion. On the other hand, I have been good at painting since I was a child, and my equal love for both of these things led me to choose fashion design. In the first two years of undergraduate study, I developed a basic understanding of fashion design, and also made some simple clothes for myself. After wearing the clothes I made, I felt more happiness and a greater sense of achievement than ever before, so I chose to study womenswear design.
Describe the inspiration and concept behind your work. Talk us through your final project and your research process. How did that come about?
I like to pay attention to certain social situations and issues, and I like to meditate on human nature and life from movies and books. Therefore, I hope my design will be able to convey my feelings and ideas or reflect aspects of some social phenomena so that people can resonate or reflect on it. My inspiration for this project comes from the novel, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", which tells the story of how humans reproduced themselves in a broken environment and enslaved these bionic humans.
In the story, the relationship between human beings and bionic human beings as well as their own existence has a huge sense of contradiction, high-tech, but low civilisation; high intelligence, but low dignity; high power, but low quality and so on. This is very similar to some class contradictions in the real world, so through this project, I want to reflect on the wrong view brought about by "power supremacy". I hope that we can be kind and not devoid of humanity in any environment, and I also hope that we can have an optimistic attitude towards the development of artificial intelligence.
Tell us about your design process. How do you work? How do you take your research and develop your own designs?
At the very beginning, I used collage and hand drawing to briefly narrate the story. That is human beings’ persecution of bionic people in order to establish authority, and the resistance of bionic people in order to survive. I imagined myself as a bionic man to get more emotions because the relationship is a method of self-definition. I discovered the concept of "finding balance and order in chaos” in this process. Then I continued to use hand-drawn sketches and collage to express my ideas. I used the images I had researched, restructuring them into many a "bionic form".
Based on the extraction of various contour graphics, these formed the basis of design for me. By draping them into a lot of irregular stereoscopic structures, I can renovate them into something new; at the same time, I also look for fabric, since the two are complementary to each other. I will choose the fabric because of the structure, and also adjust the structure because of the fabric. Then I determine the proportion of colour and printing design according to the overall collocation. In the process of design development, I will not rigidly adhere to the style and effect I wanted before. I like the beauty that happens randomly, and I hope to find more possibilities.
Tell us about your Collection Development. How do you toile, how do you like to pattern cut, do you like to drape?
In the collection development, I mainly used the draping method and drawing some sketches. I made a lot of breakthroughs with the traditional aesthetic irregular structure, and then through the design of the whole to adjust them, letting them give people a kind of emotional balance on their vision, and then turn them into a pattern. The process took a long time. I started with the paper suture to adjust the position of the line structure, etc., and then with grey fabric, adjusting the details after I get a model fitting. I use this final fabric piece to make the garment. For the simple style in my design, I made it directly through pattern cutting.
Talk us through your final collection and each outfit. Why were these the final designs?
I drew a lot of sketches, which I chose as the final design. On the one hand, I considered the difficulty of craft and production, on the other hand, my aesthetic orientation. I like that the overall fashion design is simple, but not monotonous.
What materials have you used within the collection and how did you source them? Why was this the right material for your collection?
The material selection of this series is mainly for the purpose of expressing the design atmosphere. I used crystal silk satin, a fabric mix of polyester and crystal silk with a liquid metallic lustre, polyurethane, thin coated fabric and my own printed gold drill down and organza. Zippers and buttons are made of metal. I found them in the fabric market because I needed some crisp fabrics to help achieve fashion styling, so I have a few choices.
I tried a lot of fabric modification techniques to make them richer but finally decided to use it as it is, because that is more in line with my theme in terms of emotional expression. The cold metallic material with soft gold velvet, organza, on the one hand, is to convey the sense of the future design of the atmosphere, on the other hand, is to express my concept, like a bionic person's position: "I" enclosure is cold, the origin is fictional, but I also have a warm heart, as real as real human beings.
Tell us about your illustration technics. Explain your final line up and what art materials and technics you use to showcase it.
I like the method of combining freehand drawing with computer drawing. In the early design research, I have many freehand drawings to assist with the elaboration. In the printing drawing, I use Wacom and Photoshop to draw. My final line up was also pencilled first and then imported to Photoshop for finishing and colouring.
What part of your final project have you enjoyed most and why? ie, the research and concept or maybe the manufacturing of the collection.
I like the process of transforming concept to design most, because this process is very divergent and free, and there are many attempts to be made. In this process, the designer is elaborating on the story and expressing emotions, and it can best reflect the designer's style and personality. I find it very interesting.
What’s an aspect of the fashion industry that you’re passionate about fixing or having a positive impact on?
I have always been concerned about environmental pollution caused by the fashion industry. The development of economic globalisation has promoted the development of the fashion industry, and the prevalence of consumerism has accelerated the manufacturing and change of clothing styles, which has lowered consumers' feelings towards clothing and led to its excessive waste, forming a vicious cycle. I think sustainability has become the responsibility of each designer.
In my other series, I recycled abandoned old clothes to be designed again. I hope that in the future I can provide the market with more effective ways and techniques of reducing waste, change habits inherent in the use and production of clothes, give meaning and value to using clothing more and reduce reliance on the fast consumer market.
What is your plan once you finish your BA? Where do you wish to be in the future?
I like London very much. It is a place full of creativity and artistic atmosphere and I would like to continue my study there. Now I'm applying for a course in MA Fashion Design Technology(Womenswear) at the LCF. I have seen the creations of many LCF students, and I think this is a school that attaches importance to the combination of creativity and practicality, so I really want to study in LCF. However, if I have a good job opportunity, I will choose to work for two years before applying for the postgraduate programme. The work experience will help me to have a better direction in my study. Finally, I hope I can establish my own clothing brand in the future and make some valuable and warm designs.