Xuan Cui

Interestingly, I have only started to think about pursuing a creative career after I experienced one semester of learning economics in 2017. Before that, I was following a mainstream path back in my hometown, working hard and taking exams to have a good science/art (generally referring to realms like Literature, History, Geopraphy, not exactly "art" in English meaning) major in university. Art was actually out of sight for me. The only way to study art was to attend specific sketching/painting lessons and participate in exams rating your drawing skills. It was somewhat impossible for me to spear my time for this while working on science majors, and the fact that I have pretty good scores also prevented me from the thoughts of learning art, not to mention having an artistic career. Everything changed on an ordinary weekend. I saw an article writing about art schools in the States, and the thought of learning in an art school abroad excited me; to me, it was like opening doors to an entirely new world I could never have imagined. Among all majors, fashion design stood out to me because I believe that I can express myself the most via the form of wearables, and I was curious to see how I could put my creativity into collections of clothing. Out of nowhere, I had a strong confidence that I would design clothes that I myself and other people would love. After attending classes and gaining knowledge about the fashion realm, I became aware of the specific rules of designing and creating but also enjoyed the freedom that it offered; that is when I believed it was the right road for me to pursue a creative career and be a fashion designer.

I aim to create a whimsical and lively world through my designs. Looking towards the future, I will continue developing designs that embody a soft and approachable essence, with the aim of uplifting the moods of those who encounter them. This would be the meaning of the creation and existence of my designs.

It means embracing freedom and exploring infinite possibilities.

My answer is quite simple: colorful designs. I love colors and how they bring me different emotions. For example, the colors in my collection, turquoise, violet, coral, mint, and light pink, give me a feeling of freshness and peacefulness with a bit of excitement coming from the unknown. I enjoy seeing the interactions of various colors. I think that color, form, texture, and details together make up a look, and I would say that color is the most essential element for me when looking at designs.

I think a good design is an impactful design that leads the viewers to think.

My greatest passion in design is using color, which is evident through a consistent showcase of a curated palette brimming with vibrant energy. Along with that, I place great emphasis on creating interesting forms, considering the contrast of positive/negative shapes, resulting in designs that give out an unforgettable sense of playfulness. The key elements of this collection include various kinds of ruffles, voids, loose yarn, tiny bag-shaped crochet pieces (which also look like flowers), etc.

I wanted my collection to look warm and welcoming, so I decided to use soft materials. Out of them, there are woven materials such as fur and tweeds, knit fabrics, felted yarn, etc. I thought that hand knitting or crochet would be the best method to express my creativity, and I love the freedom behind it. In the material development process, I did many knit/sewing/crochet swatches that I joined in different ways; some are furry, some are plain and solid, and some are abstract and have a lot of loose yarn hanging down. After comparing the outcomes of the swatches, I chose crochet as the primary method of building forms and making the products. The final pieces are mainly designed while making. As I was crocheting the small creatures (a product in my collection), I made a bigger prototype, which eventually led me to add wearables to my collection. Larger pieces have a greater impact on showing the feeling of the world, and not limiting myself to making only products in the shapes of the creatures helped to add variety to the shapes and forms in my collection and make the image of the world more vivid. One of the examples that reflects the intuitive design approach is the body piece that I tried to wear in a couple of ways

I think that the most important thing that my identity and experience brought is the willingness to always take a chance and discover what it can lead me to. I had the opportunity to be immersed in very different cultures and standards and gained an understanding of a variety of (sometimes opposing) values and perspectives, which interested me in discovering more about the world and how my future would be.

Thanks! Winning this award encourages me to create more fun and, hopefully, meaningful designs.

With a captivating blend of thoughtfully chosen colors, COLLECTION TZII7211 creates a distinctive style and offers a fun and relaxing visual experience. The collection establishes a whimsical and lively world through digital illustrations and crochet designs for individuals who enjoy cuddly, colorful objects. As people grow up and immerse themselves in the demands of society, it becomes increasingly challenging for them to unwind and find moments of ease, especially when they live alone. Understanding this struggle, I aspire to design pieces that could bring joy to tired grown-ups and evoke happy memories of their childhood or serve as simple emotional and physical compensation for less-than-perfect pasts. The wish is to stop the viewers

Overall, it was a smooth road. Small struggles include learning new techniques, including watercolor and hand crochet. Sometimes it was hard to continuously crochet for hours, and redoing some of the pieces was also somewhat painful, but still, it was a meaningful and inevitable process. I am grateful for all the "mistakes" that I have made along the way and what I have learned from them.

Winning an award supports me to continue learning and improve my designs.

1. Passionate people. 2. Freedom in creating. 3. Everchanging, exciting environment.

My home country, China, has massive resources, including raw materials and manufacturing facilities.

I believe that inclusivity, high technology, and sustainability would be the keywords for future design evolution.

1. Have the courage to begin and to continue. 2. Have a clear goal. Know what you want and what can help you through difficult times. 3. Have a clear budget and always keep your goal in mind. 4. Manage time wisely and make a timetable. Keep track of time spent. 5. Keep aware of work-life balance. Don't harm your health while hardworking. Take care of yourself.

YouTube tutorials and all kinds of websites teaching techniques.

There often are days when I feel like I am running out of ideas, days when I doubt if I really have any talent, days when the passion inside me fades... I cannot count how many times I wanted to quit designing and find something else to do for a lifetime. But I have faith, long-lasting faith that always draws me back on track, back to creating and improving, learning, and hoping to give out positivity through my works. I love what I do, and I feel so lucky about it.

I would say my family, especially my grandmother. I would like to credit my family members for their unconditioned support towards my education and career. It was not an easy decision to let me change my major and immerse myself in a different environment, especially when none of my family members had a creative degree or career. I am grateful for them supporting me to do what I have passion for and always caring about my health and work-life balance.

Don't worry too much, just start and continue. This advice is for people like me who like to procrastinate because of the fear of making designs that they dislike. I wish they could overcome the fear and simply start/continue their work, even for minutes or seconds. Not everything that we make/design needs to be perfect, and we should never be overly stressed about doing things "right." I think that many of the times, creativity comes after feeling free to explore and taking different approaches to what you have in mind. Cherish every (good) opportunity. And don't always wait for them; regularly look for them!

How I plan to evolve my future designs: I would like to use yarn of different thicknesses and add boning to specific designs when the structure is needed in future collections, and certainly, I would play around more with colors, which is my biggest passion in designing. Changing these aspects would bring infinite possibilities. I can't wait to explore different combinations of colors, yarn thicknesses, and varying forms.