The closing ceremony of the 2022 CICPE (China International Consumer Products Expo) Fashion Week was held in the morning on July 30 at Hainan International Convention and Exhibition Center. Leaving the best till last, apparel which drew inspiration from Changjiang Li Autonomous County’s Li brocade tradition, made for a jaw-dropping end to the fashion week and allowed audience members to get a deeper understanding of the traditional culture of the Changjiang Li people. 

The pieces at the Changjiang Li Brocade show, which combined the trendy with the traditional, were designed by INSULAiRE, a promising fashion label established in 2017 by the talented young designer Zhikai Yang in Paris. INSULAiRE translates literally into ‘insular’, and points to the origins of the label’s founder, who is Hainan born and bred. He has taken concepts from Hainan’s unique traditional culture, such as Li Brocade, the Tanka people and its maritime culture, merging them with modern, international approaches to create stunning pieces steeped in traditional Li culture.

At the show, an event to promote Changjiang Li Autonomous County was held, with head of Changjiang County Liang Ming and local enterprise representatives in attendance. The event helped to promote Changjiang’s rich resources and demonstrate the vitality of the county’s economic development. Liang Ming stated that Changjiang county has a vast array of resources, including mountains, seas, forests, fields, lakes, rivers, plains, wetland and caves, and that Changjiang is a melting pot of Han, Li and Miao cultures, making it unique in Hainan in terms of tourism resources.

At the event, there was also a session on Li tea culture, and Li brocade heritage representatives demonstrated traditional Li textile techniques such as weaving, spinning, embroidery and dyeing.