Yuan Xie

I find myself daydreaming about what lay behind the clear blue sky sometimes. This thought quite often flash in the back of my head during my childhood due to the constantly moving from place to place made it difficult to form lasting connections with people or places. Kites became my solace; whenever I flew them, I often imagined myself as the kite, yearning to catch the wind and fly somewhere far, far away. Revisiting these memories inspired my project ‘The Flying Tailor,’ where I explored reflections of my past through clothing.

I approached this project by exploring the spatial relationship between clothing and the human body through the craft of kite-making. My research revealed that the bamboo frame of a kite is crucial to its structure and flight capability. Bamboo, when exposed to heat, can be bent and reshaped to create the ideal aerodynamic form. This structure determines whether a kite can take flight, and I experimented with incorporating this technique into garment construction.

I used a cross-bracing structure to bind bamboo strips together and interlace them with fabric, mimicking traditional kite assembly. This approach preserved kite-making craftsmanship while introducing unique structural elements to my garments. Kite patterns require precise calculations for stability, often following symmetrical designs for balance in flight. By deconstructing a box kite into flat-cut garment patterns, I transformed the human body into a kite’s frame. The space between body and fabric allowed movement to mirror flight—when I extended my arms, the sleeves unfolded like wings. In a way, I was transported back to those daydreaming and caught the wind I was yearning for.