COLLECTION – THE ORDINARY I

About This Project

COLLECTION – THE ORDINARY I

Do you want to live an average life? Chances are that the answer to that question is no.

We all like to grow up with big dreams that make us believe we will be extraordinary and successful one day.

We want to be exceptional, and often we want it all – the career, the relationship, the status, and the experiences that come along with it.

And it’s only gotten worse with social media. Now that you can share images and videos of your extravagant – or perfectly normal – life on Instagram, why settle for anything less than spectacular?

Something or someone may seem extraordinary at a particular moment. Still, they will eventually be forgotten or become ordinary or common in our everyday living if we look through life at the macroscopic level. Often at mid-age, we suddenly realise we have not learnt much and have achieved nothing. After many encounters with the struggles, we realised we were just ordinary people and had no power to turn the tide.

Life itself is ordinary, but we are shamed to accept our ordinariness. That’s the way of the ego. The ego wants to do something distinguished. The ego wants to do something difficult,  challenging,  and special-something, making it feel extraordinary, so its sense of pride is inflated.

Embracing our ordinary nature does not mean we should dim our light, play down our strengths, and lower our standards. We can still find the extraordinary in the ordinary. To discover it, we must maintain a sense of childlike curiosity and wonder toward the familiar.

A drop of water can quench your thirst, but when it is not available, something as ordinary as water can become extraordinary for you. Man is born extraordinary, but his mind thinks he is ordinary. So, the desire to be extraordinary appears. It is a false ego that wants to be special. But when you are in the present, the weird feeling of being more distinguished than others disappears.

The designer is inspired by the philosophy of the extraordinary and the ordinary, – Studies the qualities of some extraordinary people in history and the ordinary person, – Observes our ordinary daily objects used or invented today and over time, – Researches how ancient Chinese designed the traditional patterns representing extraordinary allegories by painting the ordinary objects from our life and nature, – Studies the ordinary and unusual geometric shapes, – Understand the most favoured and rare colours in this world, – and also looks back at the most common fashion pieces or styles of our modern time.

Based on four common items of clothing, which are Jackets, white Shirts, T-shirts, and Jeans, we explore the possibilities of transforming the classic shape of clothing and providing multiple uses of single clothes. The prints designed for the collection are rather bold. The principle for creating these artworks is Inspired by how the traditional patterns in ancient China were created. Our ancestors often observe nature and life and discovered the extraordinary characteristics or qualities in something. Therefore, certain common objects, plants, or animals, – which are stylised in the traditional patterns, – represent mostly rich allegories. They have influenced our today’s thinking, our beliefs, our willpower, and our culture. The artworks of SS23 recreate several average daily objects in our modern time, and an artistic world of social media networks, which has an extraordinary impact on today’s living. They are merged with traditional Chinese patterns, such as silkworm and chrysanthemum patterns, and add symbolic flowers in ancient Chinese patterns and culture, including Lotus and osmanthus.

The shades of subtle Blue are the dominant and the most popular colour in this collection, – followed by Gainsboro Green, lavender Grey, and Brick Red, – with a hint of saffron, dark coral, cinnamon satin, and old gold. However, most of these colours and patterns are concealed by the skin, built by the suiting fabric, the shirting fabric, or denim. In contrast with the gentle and colourful feel inside, it brings surprises and discovers the little extra within. We want people to discover the little extra in every piece from the SS23 Collection – “THE ORDINARY”. Each style can be revealed with a new and special look, but it also can be turned back to its original average form. Like most of our lives, we are just ordinary in the end.