Tuo Zhang

LEGENDARY INTERVIEW

Design Legends ("DL") had the distinct honour to interview legendary designer Tuo Zhang ("TZ") for their original perspective and innovative approach to design as well as their creative lifestyle, we are very pleased to share our interview with our distinguished readers.

DL: Could you please tell us a bit about your design background and education?

TZ : I was born in China’s Yunnan province, known for its diversity and cultural dressing. I was mesmerized with the extensive color-palette used by the fashionable tribes of Yunnan. I became curious about the symbols of clothing and partial to the study of culture and humans. My experience in fashion began at ten with one of my illustrations of a fairy costume being awarded the Second National Star Creek Painting Competition. These early endeavors allowed me to join a comic group with twenty-two members, featuring costume play. I had the creative freedom to experiment with my team in competitions through which I gained technical social skills like leadership, teamwork, communication, and perseverance. I became certain that apparel and design was my calling. Since then I have sought to work in the fashion world.

DL: What motivates you to design in general, why did you become a designer?

TZ : In Yunnan province, clothes meant more. Families pass on the traditional appearances to generations. They record their family tree on the jacket and note stories on the underpinning. The garment now tells a story and represents the family social status. Today’s society with its economic advantages and convenient solutions undermines the inheritance of fashion. The seamstresses of today should recognize the fashions of the past to evolve with the trends. Every concept marketed today is not stand-alone and is inspired. How can I utilize the contemporary trend to connect to the past? To find answers, I must transcend and learn from the ground, the culture of apparels and the design concept.

DL: Did you choose to become a designer, or you were forced to become one?

TZ : I consistently seek balance between art and science. My transdisciplinary experience with designing from fashion, graphic, product, and visual merchandising, to research gives me an extensive foundation. Among every aspect of the design experiences, I enjoy partaking in the conceptualizing process, the research that goes into it, prototyping and finally breathing life into a product. It is essential for me to have a deep conversation with the design object and audience. Thus, design to me is beyond an action and a task; it is a connection.

DL: What do you design, what type of designs do you wish to design more of?

TZ : Through the design experience, I discovered the interaction between humans/audiences to the object. There are multiple layers of the interaction happening: the functionality of benefit, the emotional value of being attached, and the connection between people.

DL: What should young designers do to become a design legend like you?

TZ : Discover your own path. Everyone is different.

DL: What distinguishes between a good designer and a great designer?

TZ : Aspirational passion and empathy translated into the work.

DL: What makes a good design a really good design, how do you evaluate good design?

TZ : A good design root in your soul that will constantly remind you not only the visual aesthetic but also the meaning of advocacy.

DL: What is the value of good design? Why should everyone invest in good design?

TZ : Design push the society forward and innovating itself

DL: What would you design and who would you design for if you had the time?

TZ : A life portray poster for anyone

DL: What is the dream project you haven’t yet had time to realize?

TZ : Redesign flags for each country

DL: What is your secret recipe of success in design, what is your secret ingredient?

TZ : Not success yet so still trying

DL: Who are some other design masters and legends you get inspired from?

TZ : Kenya Hara

DL: If you hadn’t become a designer, what would you have done?

TZ : A traveler

DL: How do you define design, what is design for you?

TZ : Send a story to elevate the present

DL: Who helped you to reach these heights, who was your biggest supporter?

TZ : Loved ones. Always.