ACCESSORY & OVERALL WINNER: YUNTIAN DONG

China Mainland Design Competition Accessory & Overall Winner 2022: YunTian Dong

13th January 2023

YunTian Dong is a 21-year-old designer from Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, currently studying at Donghua University. Her winning entry was inspired by the marine octopus and her aim was to showcase the uniqueness of leather. Its malleable nature enabled the creation of the contours of the air holes and the playful span of the octopus tentacles.

INTERVIEW WITH YUNTIAN

Tell us about the inspiration behind your project:

At the beginning of the design process, my idea was to reflect the charm of leather. Therefore, after seeing the air hole hollowing process, I was determined to integrate it within my design. Based on this inspiration and the characteristics of leather, the prototype of luggage was gradually born. The outline of the leather is used to show the playful radian of the octopus tentacles, which not only ensures the durability of the material itself but also shows its flexible side. In terms of color matching, to reflect the sweet enthusiasm of contemporary young women without losing their handsome side, this series takes black as the main body and orange as the embellishment to create a sweet and cool style.

What do you think makes leather a great material to design with?

As a natural fabric, leather has good ductility and durability, and different parts of leather have their own unique texture. Additionally, its biodegradable advantage falls in line with the increasingly sustainable fashion industry, so it has become an excellent design material.

What has been your experience in working with leather for this competition?

This competition gave me the chance to work with more leather processing technology, and also taught me the importance of blending the proportion and texture of materials. The most important thing is that it gave me the opportunity to have a deeper understanding of leather, an excellent design material.

How do you think winning this competition will impact your career as a designer?

This award-winning experience will become a valuable steppingstone in my designer career and the recognition of my efforts gives me confidence to continue to explore and create in this field. It also made me realise the charm of genuine leather more deeply. I will use this excellent material more in my future designs and creations.