A collection inspired by Dream of the Red Chamber, one of the four great classical novels of China. The main aspect of my focus for this collection is the deeper meaning I interpreted from the novel, which is the hardship and struggles people were facing during the earlier feudal society of China and the tragic beauty of the time period hidden beneath the social norms.

Most of my inspiration came from the love triangle story between the three main characters of the novel: Lindaiyu, Jiabaoyu, and Xuebaochai. Each of these three character’s experiences ties closely to the idea of tragic beauty within a society and their attempts to break free from the feudal social norms.

Design elements used in this collection were drawn from fashion from the Qing and Ming dynasties (time period which the story takes places in) along with the emotions/feelings these characters felt while trying to break free from a society which they felt like they did not belong in.