Nana: Fashion has infinite possibilities, and new power is born from it. As a carrier of culture and times, fashion encompasses everything. From trendy to traditional culture, from celebrities, idols to everyone’s daily life, and from West to East, it is our discourse, our power, our time. Through Asian Voice, we hope to spread the local Asian fashion culture to the world by moving cross languages and borders.
In this issue of ASIAN VOICE, we welcome 022397BLUFF, a Chinese designer brand deeply rooted in the rich culture of the Miao ethnic minority in China. The designer himself, 022397, hails from Guizhou province, the ancestral home of the Miao people. As a Miao individual who grew up in an urban environment, distanced from the traditional customs and way of life of the Miao ethnic group, his exploration of his own heritage brings a distinct perspective to his designs. The concept of reconnecting with his roots and delving into the original culture serves as a powerful inspiration for his creative work.
The brand 022397BLUFF is not just a label, but a vast universe—a “religion” even—where boundaries are nonexistent and rules are discarded in favor of bold expressions of beauty. The incorporation of oriental aesthetics and the profound essence of orientalism into the designs results in a captivating and unique visual language. The vision behind 022397BLUFF encompasses a remarkable fusion of cultural influences, personal aesthetics, and a relentless desire to challenge conventional notions of beauty.
Nana: Why did you decide to start the brand and named it “022397BLUFF” initially after graduation from IFM?
022379: I have always had a huge passion for fashion since I was a child and always dreamed of becoming a fashion designer, and after studying at the École de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne (now IFM), it was only natural that I created my own label, 022397BLUFF.
I am deeply influenced by oriental aesthetics, the profound, mysterious and powerful sense of orientalism that fascinates me, and my personal aesthetic, I have always been deeply attracted by the aggressive and impactful exotic aesthetics. We are used to admiring beautiful things, but we are also impressed by the ugly things we despise at the same time: “Ugly is fascinating, ugly is exciting perhaps because he has a freshness about it”.
I dislike society’s idealism and standardization of beauty, and I have always wanted to follow my understanding of beauty in my collections, and to naturally use the beauty I feel and see inside me, while my personal design language is a strong avant-garde style.
“022397” represents a shade of blue, while “BLUFF” embodies an attitude towards life. Within the unique universe of 022397BLUFF, time and space have no fixed constraints, and concepts of gender and age dissolve. It perfectly encapsulates the brand’s distinctive ethos and perspective.
Nana: You come from Guizhou, China, and in your designs, we can see many expressions of traditional Chinese culture while also being filled with a modern urban vibe. Could you please share how you skillfully combine tradition and modernity in your designs and promotions?
022379: Guizhou is an important departure point for my creative work, but on the other hand, what this region brings should fly further away, rather than being limited by its locality, it is the place that forms me and enriches me, it is distinctive. As a Miao, but a Miao who is a stranger to the Miao, “ethnicity” is a departure point for 022397BLUFF, and the Miao culture is also a core and carrier for the creation of the collections, in which I use Miao embroidery as a design element. As I said, I am a Miao person who is a stranger to the Miao ethnic group. I grew up in the city, far from the traditional life, customs and culture of the Miao ethnic group, but this, on the contrary, gives me the idea to go back to my own ethnic group to understand it, to understand my own original culture, and then start from it. For me, “home” and “ethnicity” are actually a kind of “reacquaintance”, and the distance between us and our hometown seems to change all the time with time and our state of mind. This is the “memory” from my hometown, the land is my deepest emotional starting point, and it is inseparable. It’s true that I’ve been fascinated by the ethnic groups that I’ve been reacquainted with and that I’ve been sinking into as I’ve learned more about them! The Miao are a very ancient community and I love to find the most futuristic things in the ancient time and space, to combine them with my language and transform them, it’s very exciting!
As a third culture child, we are modern ethnic nomads, growing and asking questions in the fusion of different cultures, from where I came from to where I am going, a fusion and symbiosis, just as the Miao punk, is developing, growing and fusing ……
First of all, the most direct is the use of elements and craftsmanship, and ethnicity in my opinion is never a symbolic use, I read books related to Miao history, Miao mythological allusions as well as Miao costume and Miao embroidery, the myths and allusions to the origin of Miao culture are everywhere as my design reference, a particularly concrete reference, the story of the twelve eggs of the Miao Butterfly Mama is like the biblical story of Genesis, while various rituals, ceremonies, customs, costumes and embroideries all have different legends or allusive sources. There are a lot of specific symbols and symbolism in these stories, which can be translated from them, and like the silhouette of the garment, the fabrics, etc. This is what I am used to in my design, to let these carriers fill in and enrich the themes that I want to express, under the support of the theme of the collection. I think it is the most natural way of putting into practice to trace the origins of ethnicity itself, to find an outlet for it, because when you read about these origins or like legends or history, you can definitely find something in it that corresponds to your design, to your theme of expression and to the times of today.
Nana: How do you describe 022397BLUFF in three words?
022379: Fluid, responsible and genuine.
Nana: How do you come up with every collection?
022379: I think everyone is a universe, and a designer needs to interpret his own universe from his own complete universe, which is rich, multi-faceted and multi-faceted, containing both cosmic and intimate emotions, i.e. it is an aesthetic system and an output of ideas.
To create your own universe is the ultimate meaning of design for me, the beauty you feel, the overall system you are portraying, and this universe is abstract, each season’s collection is the process of visualizing it. Just as in 022397BLUFF universe, the 001 collection is more like a macrocosmic view, the 002 collection is more microcosmic and will be closer to my personal and intimate feelings, it shows a part of the 022397BLUFF universe.
The richness of ethnic culture gives me endless inspiration, but I will not characterize 022397BLUFF as a brand that only relies on ethnic elements, from my life and upbringing, from the environment and culture that shaped me, all are my inspiration. I am an abstract thinker and I am endlessly inspired by words, images and films. I often find the most power in the most daily life, as in our pre-002 Glutinous Rice Collection, which was inspired by the common everyday breakfast in Guizhou – the scene of glutinous rice.
Those simple and mundane things are the most real to me.
Nana: Is it possible letting us know a little bit about your next collection?
022379: As I said before, I will show you different visuals, aspects, parts of the 022397BLUFF universe in different collections… My next collection will still focus on colliding cultures, still interpreting my aesthetics and our common memories, with different and fresh styles and elements to bring to you, continuing to deconstruct the “MIAO” and the Orient in my eyes.
Nana: Can you tell us about some of the most challenging experiences you have had during the process of building your brand in Paris, and what do you think of some challenges and opportunities for Chinese or Asian designers now?
022379: As our brand was launched in November 2019, almost at the same period of time as Covid, we did experience a lot of difficulties and obstacles, the lockdown of the city in Europe caused a major hindrance to our launch and the launch of the collection, as well as the challenging remote execution of the campaign shoot for the 001 collection and the debut at Shanghai Fashion Week due to the Covid policy, and for a completely new brand, the marketing and business became more difficult with the Covid influence.
I feel that the fashion industry in China is now becoming more and more mature and diversified, and the competition in the Chinese and Asian fashion industry is very fierce, more and more international students from the European and American education systems are returning to China/Asia after completing their studies, and they are presenting rich designs from their own perspectives, combining their own backgrounds and styles, and are happy to see the development of Asian fashion today. But at the same time there are many barriers that we need to break down together.
Nana: Do you have any advice for our readers who are seeking to find a way to start their own brand in the fashion industry just like you?
022379: It takes a great sense of faith. I believe that being an independent brand is about developing your brand philosophy into a ‘religion’, where you are in dialogue with your audience and together you are finding and calling on the world you believe in.
Those simple and mundane things are the most real to me.
