Taipei AW23 Fashion Week opens with CrossLab: Dialogue Between Traditional Performance, Craftsmanship and Fashion

TAIPEI FASHION Week opened with a themed group show highlighting the collaboration between seven fashion designers and seven traditional craftsmen and performing artists, making for an impressive show to display not only its talented designers, but also the culture and arts that Taipei has to offer.

For Taipei Fashion Week autumn-winter 2023, the opening show was held in front of Nankunshen Daitian Temple in Tainan – one of the oldest and most historically significant temples in Taiwan. The show epitomised the foundation of what Taipei Fashion Week stands for—where fashion is more than an economic system and allows to connect with culture and history.

Taipei designers are known to draw their inspiration from traditional craft culture, and it has continued to be the core of contemporary Taiwan fashion, making Nankunshen Daitian Temple the perfect backdrop to display collections that pay homage to the preservation of tradition in modern day.

CrossLab: Dialogue Between Traditional Performance, Craftsmanship and Fashion Runway Show

The striking show is the third in a trilogy of crossover collaboration at Taipei Fashion Week between modern fashion designers and traditional craftsmen, following the crossover of contemporary visual art in SS22 and the crossover of indigenous master craftsmen in SS23. As with the previous crossover shows, this year’s opening show effortlessly unites art, craftsmanship, culture, and fashion to show new and exciting visions for modern Taiwanese designs.

In this year’s show, the combination of talented craftsmen and notable designers working together gave a glimpse of Taipei’s future of fashion. With BOB JIAN with Zhen Shou Temple Wu Jing Tang Folk Parade Club; WEI TZU-YUAN with Hsia-Sheng Chen, who specializes in traditional and creative knotting; TANGTSUNGCHIEN with Tung-Hua shadow puppet theatre; JUST IN XX with traditional temple painter Wu-Nan Zhuang; YENLINE with paper sculptor I-Chang Chen; GIOIA PAN with Taiwanese opera master Mei-Yun Tang; and C JEAN collaborated with lacquer artist Ching-Shuang Wang to end the show.

Taipei Fashion Week continues to move forward with an emphasis on Taiwan cultural pride, to create an interdisciplinary fashion culture. The aspiration is to create a legacy where art and culture fuse in contemporary popular clothing, combining fashion with fields such as drama, popular music, and traditional crafts. Ultimately, Taipei Fashion Week aims to become an influential force of promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion on an international stage with the emphasis and respect for craftsmanship, cultivating talent, and endless creativity.

by Vivian Hui