Oriental Garden: A Couture Collection Inspired by Nature

Designer Kelly Ng Translates the Fleeting Beauty of Nature into Exquisite Dresses

Ng's inspiration stems from the deeply embedded appreciation of nature's fleeting beauty within Japanese culture. Each season in Japan is associated with iconic flowers and plants, and Ng's research went beyond these icons. After extensive research, trials, and errors, she handpicked several flowers and plants such as wisteria, hydrangea, peony, cherry blossom, and ginkgo tree, each with its own symbolism, which she then translated into dresses.

The uniqueness of this collection lies in its storytelling. Each of the ten carefully crafted couture dresses integrates various dressmaking and textile manipulation techniques to mimic forms and phenomena occurring in nature. The collection is a journey of deconstructing and reconstructing proportions and volumes, with the force of nature translated into vibrant colors, textures, and patterns.

The realization of this collection involved couture tailoring techniques, laser cutting, embroidery, embellishment techniques, pointillism, stippling, color gradation by dyeing and layering, and digital transfer printing. The designs also incorporate an asymmetric aesthetic inspired by Japanese culture, described as a beauty that is imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete.

The collection was developed at Bunka Fashion Graduate University in Tokyo, from June 2015 to January 2016. The exhibition was held at Bunka Endou Hall in Shinjuku in February. The project presented creative, technical, and research challenges, particularly in balancing Western aesthetics that emphasize symmetry and perfection, with Japanese aesthetics that embrace nature and harmony.

Ng's "Oriental Garden" collection is a testament to her belief that the beauty of a flower is something real, something one can feel, see, touch. By reinterpreting this beauty into couture dresses, she invites viewers to enter the world of Oriental Garden and experience the fleeting beauty of nature in a new, tangible way. The collection was awarded the Golden A' Fashion, Apparel and Garment Design Award in 2017, a testament to its marvelous, outstanding, and trendsetting creation.