In Chifeng Road, Heping District, Tianjin, where every inch of land is valuable, walking into a small French-style western-style building is like traveling back to the old times. The store displays gorgeous cheongsams, like long shots from old movies, which freeze the waves of history and the glory of the times. This shop is a time-honored brand with a history of more than 140 years - Jiqingxiang cheongsam and dress family.
In the small western-style building nearby, Zhang Ailing, who lived in her childhood, and the young Zhang Xueliang and Miss Zhao Si ......Ji Qingxiang's shop is understately hidden among the former residences of many celebrities. Today, the store not only undertakes exquisite cheongsam services, but also serves as a display space for traditional Chinese intangible cultural heritage.
The 26-year-old is the fifth generation of the century-old shop. She pulled her hair in a light bun, and wore a dark printed cheongsam to outline her slender waist, smiling and smiling, like a woman walking out of a painting. Since the month before the Spring Festival, there have been many more customers in the store than usual, and Ji Junqing is busy and always communicates with customers with a smile. She is never in a hurry to sell, but is more willing to quietly observe the personality preferences of the guests, combined with her own understanding of cheongsam culture, and tailor-made an exclusive "second piece" for the guests
In the small western-style building, the old ** hanging on the wall records the development process of this century-old store. Ji Junqing told reporters that Mr. Li Qing, the first generation founder of the store, founded Qingxiang Buzhuang in Dashilar, Beijing in 1880, and later generations moved the store to Tianjin. Today's store name is Ji Junqing's mother's name - Ji Qingxiang. "My mother learned tailoring with my uncle and grandmother in the factory since she was a child, and she applied for a business license when she was 18 years old. Ji Junqing knew that it was his mother who carried the family's mission on his shoulders. Now, this mission naturally falls on the young Xiaoji.
In Ji Junqing's childhood memories, since he could walk, he played upstairs and downstairs in this small western-style building. She watched her mother carefully tailor clothes for customers in the store from morning to night every day, and poured her mother's understanding of the ancestral Ji's tailoring techniques into every stitch, and also integrated her perception of the beauty and rhyme of oriental women.
As a child, she fell in love with the cheongsam, which symbolizes the unique imagery and charm of oriental women, and began to learn unique tailoring skills from her mother. Soon, her talent was revealed. At the age of 9, she successfully designed a cheongsam for a famous TV presenter in Tianjin, "She liked it so much that I was named the 'youngest designer'." For Ji Junqing, his love for cheongsam and its skills and culture seems to have been engraved in his genes.
Many young people now like to wear cheongsam. What makes Ji Junqing happy is that in recent years, the national tide has become more and more popular, and more and more young people have begun to be interested in traditional Chinese culture. As the fifth-generation inheritor of intangible cultural heritage clothing culture, she hopes not only to carry forward the "Ji's Tailoring Technique" that has been passed down from generation to generation, but also to inject more young elements, so that the younger generation around the world can fall in love with traditional Chinese clothing culture, so that more young people can start from wearing their own cheongsam and feel the charm and essence of Chinese culture.
She has studied abroad and has also made a special trip to study the works of well-known Western designers. She found that many foreigners were particularly fascinated by the traditional Chinese costumes represented by the cheongsam, "I wanted to combine some Western artistic elements with traditional Chinese costumes, so that the ancient can be used for the present and the foreign for China."
In her design works, one of the distinctive features of Ji's tailoring technique can be seen - highlighting the curvaceous beauty of women, which requires a high level of design, tailoring and production. First of all, it is necessary to measure the data of at least 27 points of the guest's body from head to toe, and then carefully complete the design suitable for the identity characteristics of the guest according to many factors such as the guest's occupation, conversation, temperament, appearance, skin color, etc., and then use three-dimensional cutting to stitch every detail, and finally make the clothes fit perfectly with the owner.
Ji Xunqing told reporters that the style of cheongsam is also constantly changing with the times. Modern women are more confident and more widely involved in various social affairs, and these changes are also reflected in clothing. A few decades ago, cheongsams were fashionable to be worn very tightly, requiring women to strictly control their body in order to wear a good outfit. The stand-up collar of the cheongsam is also made to fit the neck very well, so that women cannot bow their heads and bend at will, and must always maintain a straight posture. "And today, the design of the cheongsam should be first considered along with the needs and comfort of the owner. Ji Junqing took the cutting innovation of the sleeve as an example to illustrate, "We can't just look good and can't lift the arms, our innovative cutting method is to ensure the beauty of the premise, so that the guests' hands can not only be raised, but also can easily complete various movements, and even play the violin is no problem." ”
Born into a family of artists, Ji Junqing hopes that the clothes he designs are not simply a piece of clothing, but a work of art infused with the spirit of craftsmanship.
Ji Junqing said that each cheongsam she designs has its own story. Among the cheongsams that fill the three-story small western-style building, it is almost impossible to find two identical ones. Ji Junqing said: "I will add as many unique details as possible to the design of each garment, and you will see surprises inadvertently, which can be regarded as the finishing touch." Her design style concept is low-key beauty, "more in line with our Chinese subtle and restrained spiritual temperament."
In Ji Junqing's eyes, "the cheongsam is not only an object, but also contains the cultural heritage of the Chinese." Today, as a member of the All-China Youth Federation and a member of the Standing Committee of the Tianjin Youth Federation, Ji Junqing actively participates in various public welfare activities, introducing the intangible cultural heritage skills and traditional Chinese cultural elements in the cheongsam to more people through various ways such as going into the community and public welfare classes.
Suzhou has a Su style cheongsam, Shanghai has a Shanghai style cheongsam, Beijing has a Beijing style cheongsam, and I want to create a Tianjin style cheongsam with Tianjin characteristics. Ji Junqing said that he hopes to let more young people around the world understand China and fall in love with China through beautiful cheongsam clothing.
China Youth Daily, China Youth Network reporter Hu Chunyan
*: China Youth Daily.