Ethnic-inspired fashion show welcomes a time of prosperity

Chinese Traditional Culture Museum stages a fashion show inspired by the solar terms and ethnic cultures in Beijing on May 21, the day of Grain Buds, the eight solar term on the traditional Chinese calendar. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Xiaoman ("little ripe") or Grain Buds, the eighth solar term, is a period embodied with hope, as spring's the warm breeze and bountiful raindrops bring a sense of rejuvenation.

Echoing this season of luxuriant growth, the Chinese Traditional Culture Museum staged on Sunday, the day that xiaoman fell, a fashion show performed by adult and child models.

Chinese Traditional Culture Museum stages a fashion show inspired by the solar terms and ethnic cultures in Beijing on May 21, the day of Grain Buds, the eight solar term on the traditional Chinese calendar. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Designed by Yang Jie, the clothes incorporated the patterns, stitching features and dye techniques of the Miao and Dong ethnic groups living in Guizhou province, inspired by a recent trip of the design team to the province in Southwest China. And the colors present the changing hues of light and varying atmospheres associated with the several solar terms from early summer to early autumn.

Su Dan, deputy director of the Chinese Traditional Culture Museum, said before the show that costumes constitute an important part of the immensity of cultural heritage, and what people used to wear and what they wear now carry rich information about the relations between people and nature, and how people define their social roles; therefore the show was a celebration of history and culture and the creative spirit and wisdom arising from people's long-term interaction with the world.