Lasting Luxury: Arts and Crafts
with Xia Bu 夏 夏布 布, a Traditional
Handloomed Ramie Fabric
Ying Luo
Abstract Since the dawn of mankind luxury was characterized by the use of expensive materials which skilled craftsmen had carefully reshaped. Since the industrial
revolution machines have often substituted craftmanship. This reduction in cost however contradicts the meaning of luxury. Sustainable materials can revert this development: machinery often is not able to replicate skilled craftsmen when processing
delicate natural fabrics. We exemplify this trend by showcasing Xia Bu, a traditional
hand-made natural fiber from ramie plant that has clothed emperors and commoners
for several millennia.
1 Lasting Luxury
In the past decades, when we talked about luxury fashion, we thought of mink coats,
leopard bags or luxurious brands full of clothing made of synthetic fibres. As the
voices to protect animals and stop plastic pollution are louder and louder, where are
those luxuries going?
The picture below shows a noble woman’s clothing from Han Dynasty (206 BC–
220 AD).
1 It is made of natural fibre and no colour. The thread is very thin and light.
The whole garment weighs 49 grams. Its craftsmanship was exquisite and that was
made by hands 2000 years ago. “It is light as smoke and thin as a feather”. That is how
it was introduced in the museum. After 2000 years, it is still luxurious to us. Today
people are concerning about the global warming, the sustainability of materials to
the environment and the fairness of the modern production to its workers. They want
to know where their clothing are made in. I hope this article can remind people to
ask what our clothings are made with and how (Photo 1).
1 http://www.sohu.com/a/216387770_100028727 accessed on 18/08/2019.
Y. Luo (B)
Anthyia Inc., Luxembourg, Luxembourg
e-mail: ying.luo@anthyia.com
URL: https://www.anthyia.com
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
M. Á. Gardetti and I. Coste-Manière (eds.), Sustainable Luxury and Craftsmanship,
Environmental Footprints and Eco-design of Products and Processes,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3769-1_5
85
with Xia Bu 夏 夏布 布, a Traditional
Handloomed Ramie Fabric
Ying Luo
Abstract Since the dawn of mankind luxury was characterized by the use of expensive materials which skilled craftsmen had carefully reshaped. Since the industrial
revolution machines have often substituted craftmanship. This reduction in cost however contradicts the meaning of luxury. Sustainable materials can revert this development: machinery often is not able to replicate skilled craftsmen when processing
delicate natural fabrics. We exemplify this trend by showcasing Xia Bu, a traditional
hand-made natural fiber from ramie plant that has clothed emperors and commoners
for several millennia.
1 Lasting Luxury
In the past decades, when we talked about luxury fashion, we thought of mink coats,
leopard bags or luxurious brands full of clothing made of synthetic fibres. As the
voices to protect animals and stop plastic pollution are louder and louder, where are
those luxuries going?
The picture below shows a noble woman’s clothing from Han Dynasty (206 BC–
220 AD).
1 It is made of natural fibre and no colour. The thread is very thin and light.
The whole garment weighs 49 grams. Its craftsmanship was exquisite and that was
made by hands 2000 years ago. “It is light as smoke and thin as a feather”. That is how
it was introduced in the museum. After 2000 years, it is still luxurious to us. Today
people are concerning about the global warming, the sustainability of materials to
the environment and the fairness of the modern production to its workers. They want
to know where their clothing are made in. I hope this article can remind people to
ask what our clothings are made with and how (Photo 1).
1 http://www.sohu.com/a/216387770_100028727 accessed on 18/08/2019.
Y. Luo (B)
Anthyia Inc., Luxembourg, Luxembourg
e-mail: ying.luo@anthyia.com
URL: https://www.anthyia.com
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
M. Á. Gardetti and I. Coste-Manière (eds.), Sustainable Luxury and Craftsmanship,
Environmental Footprints and Eco-design of Products and Processes,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3769-1_5
85