China’s Intangible Cultural Heritage At Paris Fashion Week

By Pune Media On Mar 11, 2025

Shiatzy Chen’s Autumn Winter ’25 collection at Paris Fashion Week was an exploring of the 10 types of Miao Embroidery

Courtesy Shiatzy Chen

China’s intangible cultural heritage has been making its presence felt in the fashion industry at home. Now, it’s leaped to Paris Fashion Week.

On March 10, Shiatzy Chen’s Autumn Winter ‘25 collection featured 10 types of Miao Embroidery produced in collaboration with 7 intangible heritage artisans.

Miao embroidery is recognized as a registered practice and dates back over 1,000 years. Traditionally, it is handcrafted by Miao ethnic women who use complex techniques to create elaborate motifs in vibrant colors inspired by nature, mythology, and daily life. It’s not just a decorative art form, it’s a medium for recording history, presenting beliefs, and telling cultural stories that are passed intergenerationally.

China has a variety of applications that fall under the heading of intangible cultural heritage (ICH): music and certain stringed instruments; performing arts such as opera; festivals like the Dragon Boat Festival; even culinary techniques and medical systems. The term also covers traditional crafts like spinning and weaving to dying and embroidery that have been making their mark on the domestic fashion industry and, of late, the beauty sector. Even international luxury brands such as Loewe, Dior, and Louis Vuitton have all leaned into ICH in their campaigns and products.

Models in the showspace at Shiatzy Chen’s Paris Fashion Week runway

Courtesy Shiatzy Chen

Shiatzy Chen’s collaboration is not a new endeavor. Rather, it’s part of the brand’s long-standing commitment to exploring and preserving traditional craftsmanship and its wider cultural commitment. The Taipei-based brand’s love affair with IC began over a decade ago during a trip to Guizhou where Wang met 12 Miao embroidery artisans.

“Translating culture into style lies at the core of our vision,” explains Wang, framed by towering original prints—each echoing a different Miao legend—that decorate the venue. “In today’s globalized world, many of these crafts are at risk of fading away. We are trying not only to preserve these traditions but to reimagine them in contemporary forms.”

After an opportunity arose to collaborate with the Guizhou government, a unique partnership was born. However, in Guizhou, those skilled in Miao embroidery are highly valued making it a complicated process to bring artisans out of the region, a complex endeavor. Eventually, the 12 artisans were invited to the brand’s embroidery atelier in Shanghai for an exchange with Su embroidery. More than a technical dialogue—it was a cultural exchange where traditions met and imaginations sparked.

A dress featuring tin embroidery on the Shiatzy Chen runway at Paris Fashion Week

Domlnique MAITRE

This season, the results were brought to life by a diverse cast of models who strode furiously down the runway to The Cure’s A Forest. Here’s a guide to some of the techniques shown in the collection at the Palais de Tokyo.

Tin embroidery

Tin Embroidery is an ICH technique that uses tin sheets, each 2 mm wide, to stitch on the fabric. Miao people would, traditionally, only apply tin embroidery on fabrics and routinely in geomatics and linear designs. This season, the brand had some significant breakthroughs in this technique. “We reimagined it to create intricate, delicate motifs which were applied on leather for the first time,” Madame Wang explained after the show. On the runway, tin stitches could be seen on coat collars and the hems of evening wear dresses.

Detail of Horsetail stitch in Shiatzy Chen’s Autumn Winter ’25.

Courtesy Shiatzy Chen

Horsetail Stitch

This is an ICH technique that uses horsehair strands as threads and was a particular highlight in the collection. “In Miao culture, this craft carries deep symbolic meaning, representing blessings, resilience, and continuity,” Wang shared. It was used in delicate butterflies on blazers and on quilted outerwear.

Pilling Stitch

This very complex and time consuming technique uses silk fabric instead of thread. The silk is cut into small triangular pieces, folded and layered outward, creating a rich and three-dimensional texture with vibrant colors.

Detail of pilling stitches from Shiatzy Chen’s Autumn Winter ’25 collection.

Courtesy Shiatzy Chen

Relief Stitch

Relief Stitch features cutting and layering techniques which create raised sculptural effects. Different fabric layers are embroidered together to create depth. It can usually be seen on the collar or hem of Miao clothing.

Split line

Split line stitch is where threads are split and re-stitched to create smooth color gradients, enhancing the delicacy of embroidery. It is often used in motifs like florals or feathers to create a soft, elegant look. It was seen on the runway in a vibrant blue cape.

A coat featuring split line stitching on the runway at Shiatzy Chen’s Paris Fashion Week show

Domlnique MAITRE