《Zomer in Amsterdam》
“We turned watercolor paintings into fabric, and invited the artists to wear their own inspirations on the runway.”
— A Van Gogh–inspired summer show that began in a studio.
In the bright and quiet summer of 2019, Caizi reached out to me. She mentioned that she had been spending time at a studio where a group of watercolor enthusiasts gathered, and invited me to visit. Caizi had long been our creative partner. A few years earlier, she had painted many watercolor prints for our fabric development. Those soft, poetic, and free-flowing pieces are still vivid in my memory.
That afternoon, we talked from daylight to dusk. The warmth of reunion, combined with the scent of pigment and paper in the air, evoked a kind of idealism—as if something called “purity” still quietly existed in this age.
She told me they had all been painting Van Gogh lately. Around a dozen young people,close to my age, sat in quiet concentration, sketching their own visions of sunflowers and starry nights.
In that instant, inspiration struck like lightning. I blurted out, “What if we turn your paintings into fabric? We’ll make the garments—you each paint a flower, and we’ll merge them into a themed design. Then we’ll produce the clothes, and you’ll be the models. Let’s create a Van Gogh–inspired mini fashion show. What do you think?
The air seemed to ignite in that moment. The brushstrokes on canvas transformed into patterns on fabric, and passion met creativity across mediums.
From painting to clothing,from inspiration to finished garments—it was more than a collaboration; it was a shared combustion of beauty.
We spent several days discussing the theme and shaping the format of the show.Eventually, we named the project “Summer in Amsterdam” and even wrote a poem together, sealing the spirit of this cross-boundary journey.
Over the next forty days, we devoted ourselves to the process as if preparing for a festival.From painting and fabric development to design, pattern making, and sample creation—it all unfolded like a midsummer dream. When the garments were finally ready, those who had once painted on paper now wore their own inspirations and walked the runway we built together.
That day, we saw another face of fashion. It wasn’t about elusive trends or the game of numbers. It was like oxygen in the air—ready to catch fire wherever there’s passion. It can ignite anyone who dares to believe in it.
Though we have always been a commercial OEM/ODM apparel company, it is often in these so-called “non-serious ventures” that we find our true pursuit. Fashion may be our profession, but perhaps our greatest passion lies in living a rich and expansive life.
