Works by XMUT Professor Chen Yu Featured at BASI World Peace Forum-Xiamen University Of Technology

Works by XMUT Professor Chen Yu Featured at BASI World Peace Forum

Posted by: Posted date: 2025-11-21

From November 17 to 20, 2025, China's Golden Crown Award-winning designer, Professor Chen Yu of XMUT, presented the Hui'an Women's attire collection in Paris, France, attending the 2025 BASI World Peace Forum as a distinguished cultural ambassador for peace. The collection vitalizes intangible cultural heritage through a unique design language, offering a cultural feast that blends the essence of Southern Fujian (Minnan) culture with a contemporary fashion ethos. It was a highlight of the forum's cultural exchange events.

The event was honored to host an array of distinguished guests, including representatives from the Chinese Embassy in France; Qu Xing, Deputy Director-General of UNESCO; Xu Jianguo, Secretary-General of the China Peace and Development Foundation; Alexander Navarro, Secretary-General of the French National Commission for UNESCO; Luo Linquan, Vice President of the China Public Diplomacy Association; Nicolas Maclean CMG, Rotating Chairman of the International Council for the European Peace and Development Centre of the UN-mandated University for Peace; and Yang Yongjin, founder of the BASI Public Welfare Alliance. It received gracious support from institutions such as the China Cultural Center in Paris, the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, and the French Federation of Haute Couture and Fashion, as well as pivotal support from the Hui’an County authorities and prominent figures from various sectors.

Revitalizing Heritage for Peace: The Radiant and Emotional Hui’an Style in Design

With yellow bamboo hats draped in light veils and silver waistbands accentuating silhouettes, the grand show of Hui’an women’s attire, meticulously crafted by Professor Chen Yu’s team, connected global civilizations through the beauty of fashion and the aspiration for peace. Taking “The Radiant and Emotional Hui’an Style” as its design core, the show revitalized the national-level intangible cultural heritage of “Hui’an Women’s Attire” within a contemporary fashion context. The designs were not simple replicas of tradition but acts of cultural “translation.” Traditional headdresses such as the shuanggutou (double-bun style), beizhiji (shell-shaped bun), and luozongtou (ornamental spiral coiffure) were transformed into warm chromatic accents on the garments, while the iconic yellow bamboo hats, silver waistbands, and floral headscarves were reimagined with a new practicality and aesthetic. Color serves as the narrative’s key. Blue embodies the damp brine of the sea breeze and the granular texture of stone. Yellow captures the solidity of the earth and the iridescent sheen of shells. Red interweaves the fabric’s weave with the clamor of celebration. Each hue is a vital symbol tempered by time, ultimately presenting, through the models’ stride, a radiant and evocative epic of Hui’an culture.

Intangible Heritage as a Bridge: Conveying Emotion Through Beauty for a Shared Future

From the daily life of fishing villages to the international stage, Hui’an women’s attire has achieved a magnificent transformation across time and space, evolving from static heritage in museums to a “living culture” vibrant in contemporary and global contexts. The design philosophy resonated perfectly with the core theme of the BASI World Peace Forum—"Mutual Learning Among Civilizations for Shared Peace"—serving as a cultural ambassador carrying the message of peace. This cultural force on the world stage realizes the vision of “Bloom in Diversity, Harmony in Coexistence,” and represents a pioneering exploration into how China’s intangible cultural heritage (ICH) can facilitate international dialogue for peace. This showcase was a living demonstration of civilizational exchange through Chinese ICH on the global stage, using the language of attire to communicate a message of peace and to showcase China’s cultural contribution to a more harmonious world. The event became a resonant point for diverse civilizations, capturing the world’s attention as one of the forum’s most impactful cultural events and infusing new energy into global peace through cultural exchange.

When the “Hui’an Style” met the cultural milieu of Paris, Eastern and Western civilizations met and melded on the runway. Professor Chen Yu remarked, “It is by tapping into the cultural roots and conveying genuine artistic emotion that we can transcend geographical boundaries, turn unique cultural appeal into sustainable partnership and shared values, and ultimately foster a beautiful coexistence between Eastern heritage and Western civilization.”