Interview

Nov 9

Xuan Cui

Xuan Cui, a fashion design BFA who graduated from Parsons School of Design in the year 2023, has grown up with a multicultural background, being a member of a Chinese minority group, and has been fortunate to study both arts and science in different cities and abroad, including Beijing; Yanji, China; Seoul; London and New York. She gained open-mindedness and appreciation for different thoughts and styles through her rich experiences and figured out her design philosophy, guiding her toward creating designs that could give out a unique sense of playfulness. Color is her greatest passion in design, which is evident in her work through a consistent showcase of a curated palette brimming with vibrant energy. She has an intuitive design approach and places great emphasis on making creative forms, considering the contrast of positive/negative shapes. Together with a captivating blend of thoughtfully chosen colors, her designs create a distinctive style and offer an impactful visual experience. Looking towards the future, she will continue to develop a fun and lively world of designs, with the aim of brightening the moods of those who encounter them.

What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?

“I am a fashion design BFA who graduated from Parsons School of Design in 2023. I grew up with a multicultural background and have been fortunate to study both arts and science in different cities and abroad. I gained open-mindedness and appreciation for different thoughts and styles through the rich experiences and gradually established my style, offering a fun and relaxing visual experience. Interestingly, I have only started to think about pursuing a creative career after I experienced one semester of learning economics in 2017. Before that, I was following a mainstream path back in my hometown, working hard and taking exams to have a good science/art, generally referring to realms like Literature, History, Geography, not exactly "art" in English meaning, major in university. Art was actually out of sight for me. The only way to study art was to attend specific sketching/painting lessons and participate in exams rating your drawing skills. It was somewhat impossible for me to spear my time for this while working on science majors, and the fact that I have pretty good scores also prevented me from the thoughts of learning art, not to mention having an artistic career. Everything changed on an ordinary weekend. I saw an article writing about art schools in the States, and the thought of learning in an art school abroad excited me; to me, it was like opening doors to an entirely new world I could never have imagined. Among all majors, fashion design stood out to me because I believe that I can express myself the most via the form of wearables, and I was curious to see how I could put my creativity into collections of clothing. Out of nowhere, I had a strong confidence that I would design clothes that I myself and other people would love. After attending classes and gaining knowledge about the fashion realm, I became aware of the specific rules of designing and creating but also enjoyed the freedom that it offered; that is when I believed it was the right road for me to pursue a creative career and be a fashion designer.”

What inspires you?

“For the collection TZII, I wanted to create a weird and lively world. So, at the beginning of the research process, I focused on gathering images that conveyed a similar feeling to the world in my mind. They were images of beautiful, dreamy paintings, digital illustrations, digital renderings, installation art, practical objects such as pots and light bulb holders, immersive space, etc. I enjoy seeing the interactions of various colors, and I get inspired by the organic forms and all the twists and turns in the images.”

What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?

“As people grow up and immerse themselves in the demands of society, it becomes increasingly challenging for them to unwind and find moments of ease, especially when they live alone. Understanding this struggle, I aspire to design pieces that could bring joy to tired grown-ups and evoke happy memories of their childhood or serve as simple emotional and physical compensation for less-than-perfect pasts. The wish is to stop the viewers’ seriousness for a second and let them feel relaxed. Looking towards the future, I will continue to develop a fun and lively world of designs, with the aim of brightening the moods of those who encounter them.”

“I enjoy seeing the interactions of various colors, and I get inspired by the organic forms and all the twists and turns in the images.”

How would you describe your work?

“With a captivating blend of thoughtfully chosen colors, collection TZII creates a distinctive style and offers a fun and relaxing visual experience. The collection establishes a whimsical and lively world through digital illustrations and crochet designs for individuals who enjoy cuddly, colorful objects. My artwork's identity is deeply rooted in my profound passion for color within design, as shown through a consistent showcase of a curated palette brimming with vibrant energy. I have an intuitive design approach and place great emphasis on making creative forms, considering the contrast of positive/negative shapes, resulting in pieces that give out an unforgettable sense of playfulness.”

Which artists influence you most?

“I love the famous works of Mike Kelley, which, to me, reflect the lack of companionship, mainly by parents, of many children. The stuffed toys were given to the children to accompany them; in this way, the parents aimed to make up for the loss of their company. I was thinking of making soft products for the collection TZII, and Kelley's works reminded me of the emotional connection between an object and the owner. Besides, I am inspired by the sculpture composed of LED Screens named CHAOS #501 by Urs Fischer. The screen presents a massive amount of digitally rendered, daily-use objects in motion. I was fascinated by the impact of scale and movement in an art piece. There were various objects in different sizes and colors, but they still gave a sense of harmony as a whole. Along with that, I would like to include an intensive narrative puzzle game named Song of Bloom and an adventure and puzzle game named Samorost 3. I love the individual captions and the storyline of the first, and I am obsessed with the scenes presented in the second game, giving the viewers a sense of spaciousness. I learned the importance of storytelling and a unique, recognizable scale in games, which would be the same case for art and design pieces.”

What is your creative process like?

“I wanted my collection to look warm and welcoming, so I decided to use soft materials. Out of them, there are woven materials such as fur and tweeds, knit fabrics, felted yarn, etc. I thought that hand knitting or crochet would be the best method to express my creativity, and I love the freedom behind it. When deciding the color palette, I considered what visual direction I should take for this collection and imagined a humid jungle with soft light and echoing sounds of the streams. So, I selected turquoise, violet, coral, mint, and light pink for the collection, which gave me a feeling of freshness and peacefulness with a bit of excitement coming from the unknown. In the material development process, I did many knit/sewing/crochet swatches that I joined in different ways; some are furry, some are plain and solid, and some are abstract and have a lot of loose yarn hanging down. After comparing the outcomes of the swatches, I chose crochet as the primary method of building forms and making the products. The final pieces are mainly designed while making. As I was crocheting the small creatures, a product in my collection, I made a bigger prototype, which eventually led me to add wearables to my collection. Larger pieces have a greater impact on showing the feeling of the world, and not limiting myself to making only products in the shapes of the creatures helped to add variety to the shapes and forms in my collection and make the image of the world more vivid. One of the examples that reflects the intuitive design approach is the body piece that I tried to wear in a couple of ways - as a top, a skirt, etc. - finally became a large handbag in a creative form that I would otherwise never develop. Most pieces were redone multiple times to harmonize the shapes and colors of the comprehensive look, hoping the viewers could enjoy seeing the colorful pieces in playful forms and feel the softness.”

What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?

“Art to me means embracing freedom and exploring infinite possibilities. I think the responsibility of the artist is to create impactful works that leads the viewers to think. I think in the future, the boundary between an "artist" and "non-artist" would gradually fade.”