Canwen Zhao
Fashion Design MA
RMIT University Melbourne
Specialisms: Textiles for Fashion / Costume Design - Stage Screen Dance / Illustration
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Canwen Zhao
First Name: Canwen
Last Name: Zhao
Specialisms: Textiles for Fashion / Costume Design - Stage Screen Dance / Illustration
Sectors:
My Location: Melbourne, Australia
University / College: RMIT University Melbourne
Course / Program Title: Fashion Design MA
About
Canwen Zhao is a multidisciplinary fashion designer currently based in Melbourne, Australia. With a background in Chinese painting and further studies in fashion and art, Canwen brings a unique aesthetic vision to her work.
She has worked in various fields ranging from fashion and film costume to IP design and commercial illustration, and her designs often address cultural, religious, and environmental issues.
For Canwen, sustainability is the most important thing in her design practice. During her studies in 2017, she visited a recycling depot and experienced garment sorting, which made her aware of the waste of resources in the fashion industry.As a fashion designer, Canwen desires to contribute to the field of sustainable design in the fashion industry. 35 Life, represents her sustainable design practice, which aims to reduce waste in the fashion industry while bringing a relaxed and pleasant experience to the urban population.
35 LIFE 35 Life is a sustainable fashion project, with upcycled second-hand clothing in an urban outdoor style with highlighted colour design elements always to look ‘new’. Products can quickly transform into a pretty bag for daily carry and home storage. The concept comes from the traditional Chinese cultural trigram ‘Fire Feng Ding’, which means ‘change the old to the new’. For groups that cannot expose skin to the sun for long periods, designs are more functional with the changes in urban living scenarios. 35 Life brings a relaxed, pleasant visual and wearing experience to the highly stressed urban population. SOCIALS: canwen.zhao or canwen35.fashion IMAGE CREDIT: Photographer: Ray Zhang, Michelle Li Model:Jolin Wang, Jason Wang, Kristina Li
Competitions
Global Design Graduate Show 2023
Canwen's project, 35 Life, represents her design aesthetic and sustainable practice. The project uses upcycled second-hand clothing to create urban outdoor style products with highlighted colour design elements that always look 'new'. The products can quickly transform into a pretty bag for daily carry and home storage, and the bag serves as an original package for sale, providing more opportunity for resale in the second-hand market. The project aims to reduce the waste of resources and over-packaging products in the fashion industry. The concept comes from the traditional Chinese cultural trigram ‘Fire Feng Ding’, which means ‘change the old to the new’. The designs are more functional for groups that cannot expose skin to the sun for long periods, accommodating changes in urban living scenarios. 35 Life brings a relaxed, pleasant visual and wearing experience to the highly stressed urban population.