Chinese embroidery artists make an appearance in London to promote cultural and creative exchange between China and the UK

Fraser, a century-old department store on Oxford Street in the commercial center of London, welcomed a special group of guests on the 7th – a team of ethnic minority embroidery artisans from Guizhou, China, who showcased their exquisite traditional handicraft to demonstrate the diverse and colorful ethnic culture of China.

As part of the fifth session of the China-UK High-Level People-to-People Dialogue, the themed event “Inheriting Ingenuity, Dreaming in Embroidery” brought these Chinese traditional artisans to the UK. Through clothing exhibitions, fashion shows, interactive activities, and more, the event combined dynamic and static elements, tradition and fashion, showcasing and exchange, allowing local people to appreciate and understand the rich and diverse ethnic embroidery culture of China from multiple perspectives.

Many of these embroiderers from the Miao and Dong autonomous prefectures of Southeast Guizhou Province were traveling abroad for the first time. Dressed in traditional attire, they displayed their skilled craftsmanship using colorful silk threads to intricately embroider beautiful patterns onto hand-spun fabrics, such as auspicious flowers and birds and exquisite totems. This quickly attracted ‘foreign customers’ to participate in the embroidery experience, with some even hoping to purchase them as Christmas gifts for their families.

In addition to the experience activities at Fraser, these embroiderers also participated in a fashion show at the South Bank Art Center in London. The show opened with an original ecological Miao folk song, “Hometown Flowers,” and presented over 40 sets of garments jointly designed by Chinese and British designers and handcrafted by Chinese embroiderers. As the fashion models brought dynamic beauty, 9 ethnic minority embroiderers quietly showcased their skills on stage, moving the audience with their creativity while appreciating the beauty.

As the organizer of this event, Xia Hua, Chairman of the Yiwen Group and founder of the “Yiwen·Chinese Handicraft Workshop,” stated that with strong support from the government and collaborative efforts from all sectors, the trip of the Chinese embroiderers to London was made possible, allowing the world to witness the breathtaking collaboration between international designers and these mountain embroiderers. She said, “In their eyes, art for these embroiderers is about their simple and real work day after day, year after year.”

According to the organizers, for the past 15 years, the “Yiwen·Chinese Handicraft Workshop” has been committed to the inheritance and protection of traditional Chinese handicrafts. Through a precise poverty alleviation model of “discovery, organization, innovation, and application,” impoverished embroiderers have been trained and given orders, allowing them to achieve permanent poverty alleviation through sustainable business models. This enables these mountain embroiderers, organized into “Embroidery Dream Workshops,” to enjoy a happy life of “carrying children, embroidering flowers, supporting themselves, and supporting their families.”

Long Lingxiang, a embroiderer in her 50s, shared that this was her first trip abroad, and she was very excited. In her hometown, there are many embroiderers who have passed down the exquisite embroidery skills through generations. Previously, they only made clothes for their families. By participating in projects initiated by the Yiwen Group, not only were their skills utilized, but they also received training opportunities to modernize and improve these traditional crafts, making the style of the embroidery more contemporary. At the same time, their living standards have improved, and their social value has been more widely recognized.

In the process of continuously leading Chinese embroiderers out of the mountains and showing the world the beauty of traditional Chinese handicrafts, Xia Hua expressed her hope for more collective efforts to promote more “Chinese creativity, global design” modern aesthetic products into the international market with confidence in Chinese culture and a fashion attitude.

Last year, the Yiwen Group and Barbara Judge, Chair of the UK Institute of Directors, jointly launched the B&H China Cultural Creative Center to enhance exchanges and cooperation between young British designers and traditional Chinese handicraft artists.

Judge stated that the mission of the B&H China Cultural Creative Center is to build a broad and deep cultural exchange platform between China and the UK. This platform will deepen the world’s understanding of Chinese culture, assist in improving the lives of craftspersons in impoverished areas of China, protect China’s cultural heritage, and showcase the beauty of Chinese culture to the world. She said, “I hope to inspire more business leaders in China and the UK to jointly promote cultural cooperation and exchange. Currently, the world-renowned British fashion brand Burberry has committed to supporting this platform in innovative ways.”

After viewing the exhibition and fashion show, John Peace, Chairman of Burberry, remarked that not only were the fabrics and designs exquisite and creative, reflecting the elegance of Chinese culture, but he also looked forward to further cooperation to jointly promote traditional Chinese culture.

Yu Qun, Assistant Minister ofCulture, Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China, stated at the event that as great cultural nations, both China and the UK have created splendid histories and brilliant cultures. Both countries attach great importance to the inheritance, protection, and innovation of historical culture and arts, and both utilize unique wisdom to breathe new life and vitality into their respective traditional cultural arts in today’s era. China has abundant creative resources, while the UK possesses outstanding abilities to transform creative resources into innovative products. It is believed that mutual exchange and learning will bring new inspiration and enlightenment to the creative industry cooperation between the two countries.