最是他一剪的温柔，给了女人似水莲花不胜凉风的娇羞 | Cheongsam Designer

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As a piece of Chinese clothing, qipao is always a classic choice for women.

说起中国的特色服饰，旗袍是一个绕不过的话题。

Unlike what most people believe, the qipao isn't a direct successor to the traditional Manchu dress in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). It was instead mostly influenced by the West, following the Revolution of 1911. At that time, designers in Shanghai and Beijing reformed the outmoded Manchu dress with modern tailoring. The new patterns soon became popular among female students in Shanghai, and before long, the trend attracted more and more women among the upper classes and in the world of entertainment.

与一般人的认知不同，旗袍与清代旗装没有直接的渊源关系，反而与上世纪20年代，辛亥革命之后的西化之风有关。当时，上海、北平等地的设计师对已被冷落许久的旗人服装进行改良，重新剪裁。这种新式服装迅速在上海的女学生当中流行，进而成为一时风尚，让上层社会和娱乐界的女性趋之若鹜。

The standing collar and slim waist of the qipao illustrates the curves of the female figure, going against the conservative idea of wrapping a woman's chest and arms. It catered to the tastes of women's liberation and gradually became an important garment for urban women. In the next 20 years, the qipao stayed in the height of fashion, even becoming one of the national dresses for the Republic of China in 1929.

立领收腰的旗袍改变了中国妇女长期束胸裹臂的旧貌，充分展示女性的曲线美，迎合了当时女性解放的潮流，逐渐成为城市女性的重要服饰。旗袍在接下来的20年间一度风行，还在1929年成为中华民国的国家礼服之一。

From female leaders and first ladies, to common women in special ceremonies, the qipao has always remained a firm favorite.

时至今日，上至外交活动中的女领袖和领袖夫人，下至举办典礼的普通人，旗袍依旧是在重要场合中备受青睐的服装。

"I think any woman can wear a qipao. Plump or slim, as long as she has a certain body proportion and is properly educated, she would look great in it," says Luo Yang. The 25-year-old designer who runs a qipao studio in Chengdu.

“我觉得旗袍是任何一个女人基本上都能有机会穿的。不在乎她胖瘦，只要她有一定的比例，还有一定的涵养，就让我觉得她穿旗袍会特别好看。”今年25岁的罗阳说。他是一名旗袍设计师，目前在成都经营着自己的旗袍工作室。

An old tailor once told Luo Yang: "Anything makes sense. The 'pao' in 'qipao' means fit but not tight." Keeping this in mind, Luo Yang has been exploring new designs in order to reveal the subtle beauty of Chinese women, but without being vulgar with it.

一位旗袍老师傅曾对罗阳说：“旗袍的‘袍’字有讲究。袍者，裹贴而不紧身。”基于这样的理念，罗阳一直在摸索和改良旗袍的版式，让它既能凸显东方女性的含蓄之美，又不艳俗。

The golden age of the qipao is an important resource for Luo Yang's inspirations. He collected the bound volumes of The Young Companion, a popular pictorial magazine in the Republic of China.

旗袍黄金时代的样式是罗阳重要的灵感来源。他的 48 31356 48 15231 0 0 1118 0 0:00:28 0:00:13 0:00:15 2945里一直收藏着民国综合摄影画报《良友》的合订本。

"We choose a piece of cloth to define the basic tone. Then we go for the details, such as the color of the hemming and the material of the knot buttons. I also use draping techniques dating from the 1930s in Shanghai."

“用一块面料做好基调之后，我们就考虑它的细节。比如包边的颜色，扣头的选材，同时我也加入一些从三十年代开始海派旗袍就进行的立体剪裁。”

As the times change, the customers demand more. Therefore, Luo Yang learns from other qipao studios, keeping up with their latest developments.

同时，时代在变化，客户的要求也愈加繁多。罗阳也关注着市面上其他旗袍工作室的状况，汲取各家优点。

"I should try as many things as possible. And those shall become the footstone of my future innovations."

“我觉得还是尽可能多地去涉猎一些东西，然后沉淀下来，最终厚积薄发。”

Now, Luo Yang's studio has been widely acknowledged among customers via word of mouth, and gained their loyalty. The best compliment he's ever heard was that once someone tried a Luo Yang qipao on, they wouldn't go to any other tailors. 

目前，罗阳的旗袍工作室已经积累起一定口碑，有了一些忠实顾客。客人们说过的最让罗阳高兴的话是，穿过他的旗袍就不愿意再穿别家的了。

Besides earning a living, Luo Yang sees qipao tailoring as his hobby. The best way to maintain the vitality of this hobby is to bring it into daily life, to let people wear it, thus making it naturally charming, and only then will this special Chinese treasure live on for generations to come.

在谋生之外，罗阳一直把旗袍当作爱好去做。要赋予他所热爱的服装更长久的生命力，最好的办法就是将它带进生活，让人们穿着它，自然而然地赋予它气质。这样，这份独特的中国韵味将能一直流传下去。

Cameraman: Guo Yong

Film editor: Tan Di, Ma Mingyuan

Story written by: Zhu Siqi

English editor: Josh McNally

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