Shiatzy Chen dedicated her fall 2025 collection to Miao embroidery, one of China’s intangible cultural heritages commonly found in the mountainous region of Guizhou province.
Twenty giant posters covered the walls of the venue inside Palais de Tokyo, depicting Miao mythological tales, such as the love story between the butterfly and the phoenix, that can be traced back to the Neolithic era.
The designer expressed these colorful, primitive iconographies with Miao embroidery techniques in her signature elevated, East-meets-West fashion. She worked with seven Miao artisans, fusing 10 different styles of embroidery across the collection, adding thoughtful details to an overall modern proposition. Embroidered ribbon trims added color to elegant tweed sets, and auspicious motifs helped add a dash of playfulness to the formal attire.
According to Chen, compared to the sophisticated Suzhou-style embroidery she has played with for decades, Miao embroidery is more untamed, robust and carefree.
The Miao people are master silversmiths, too. Chen reinterpreted the metal connection with metal studs on leather bib tops, quilted jackets, and the collar of a mandarin jacket. She also showed 10 one-off handbags, each depicting the beauty of one of the Miao embroidery styles.
The designer said she is committed to preserving China’s vanishing traditional crafts. She has been training workers in her factories, and she hopes that they can eventually return to their hometowns and open their workshops and become the guardians of the intangible cultural heritage.
Among them, one embroiderer has already successfully returned to Guizhou to open her workshop and contributed to the fall collection.
“I hope that there will be more such embroiderers in the future, driving more people to join this cause. I hope that through this show, we can show the unique allure of Chinese traditional crafts to the world,” said Chen.
