The "Generation Z" Relay Inherits White Pants And Yao Clothes Become Popular Overseas

From weaving to spinning, to sketching the pattern with sticky paste and dyeing the cloth with indigo Li Qiuyi, a girl of the "95 Generation" in Nandan County, Hechi City, Guangxi, learned from her mother how to make white pants and Yao costumes. Now, she takes the white pants Yao clothes out of the mountain and sells the indigo dyed fabrics to Europe.

On February 13, Li Fengzhen (second from the right), the representative inheritor of "Yao costumes" in Guangxi, and her daughter Li Qiuyi (first from the right) introduced the yarn used in Yao costumes to tourists. Photographed by Wei Jiaxu

Baiku Yao is a branch of the Yao nationality, mainly living in Guangxi and Guizhou. In 2006, Yao costumes were included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists.

Li Fengzhen is a representative inheritor of Yao costumes. She and her daughter Li Qiuyi jointly run Nandan Fengzhen Blue Indigo Dyeing Shop, replacing part of the manual work with machines, and setting off a new fashion of local clothing. "At every wedding or festival, the women in the village would find me with homemade indigo dyed cloth and use the machine to pleat the cloth to make pleated skirts." Li Qiuyi said that compared with the traditional manual pleating, the pleats made by the machine were more neat and exquisite.

According to Li Qiuyi, there are two kinds of dressings for Yao women in white pants: winter and summer. The front and back pieces of the summer jacket are sewn with two pieces of cloth, without collar and sleeves, only the shoulders are connected, the back is embroidered with Yao Wang's seal, and the bottom is a blue knee length pleated skirt.

In order to "rejuvenate" the thousand year old Yao costumes, Li Fengzhen integrated modern fashion elements into the traditional process, designed the white pants Yao costumes in the style of off shoulder strapless dress, and matched them with Yao earrings, necklaces, rings and other items, which were favored by the market.

Li Qiuyi believes that the inheritance and development form of intangible cultural heritage needs to be changed, and also needs to be changed by skillful force. In recent years, tourism in Nandan County has increased, and Li Qiuyi has found opportunities from it. Many young people are keen on taking photos and clocking in. She rents Baiku Yao clothes to the outside world, which will drive the sales of Baiku Yao clothes and related cultural and creative products to more than 2.8 million yuan (RMB, the same below) in 2024.

Li Qiuyi also actively participated in exhibitions at home and abroad to bring the white pants Yao clothing out of the mountain and attract the attention of overseas customers. "The indigo dyed fabric is dyed by natural plants with exquisite patterns, which is popular with European customers. In 2024, the orders from Europe will be more than 500000 yuan."

"The blue indigo dyed cloth in the production process of Baiku Yao clothing needs to extract indigo mud from indigo grass, and then dye cotton thread and cotton cloth blue to produce a bright, pure and beautiful color." Li Qiuyi said that the production of Baiku Yao clothing needs more than 30 processes, and the cycle is often as long as a year.

At the time of the upsurge of research and learning, Li Qiuyi also drew inspiration from the production techniques of white pants Yao costumes, designed paste painting research courses, and cooperated with many universities, attracting more than 10000 people to experience.

On February 13, in the Baiku Yao Costume Exhibition Hall in Nandan County, Hechi City, Guangxi, there were sticky paintings left by students on the table. Photographed by Wei Jiaxu

When entering the Baiku Yao Clothing Exhibition Hall, stickers were displayed on the table one by one. Li Qiuyi told the reporter that the students' sticky paste works would be completed after they were colored with indigo, washed in the air, and boiled off the sticky paste. "Feeling and understanding intangible cultural heritage while playing can stimulate the interest in intangible cultural heritage."

Professor Rodney Harrison of University College London, UK, recently went to Nandan County to carry out research. When he was interviewed, he said that the style of white pants Yao pleated skirt is very international, and its production technology has national characteristics, which is of great research value.

"In March 2026, University College London, UK, will cooperate with Nandan Baiku Yao Ecological Museum, etc. to carry out the Baiku Yao cultural exhibition in London, Manchester and other places in the UK, so that more people can feel the charm of China's millennium intangible heritage." Rodney Harrison said that he would help the cultural exhibition to be held smoothly.

(Source: China News Network)