Shumeng Ye's Book of Warriors, in which a pair of Chinese trainers is packaged with a book of photographs, has become a cult hit in Europe. She tells CR how she did it
In one of my recent posts about Shanghai I mentioned the Hui Li Warrior brand trainers that had become something of a hip item in Europe. I attributed their revival to a French fashion designer but I was wrong - the Book of Warriors, in which a pair of the trainers is packaged with a book of photographs featuring Chinese people wearing them, is actually the work of Finnish-Chinese graphic design student Shumeng Ye.
Shumeng Ye in her Warriors
Shumeng says she got the initial idea for the Warrior book in 2006 having spied a cleaning lady wearing a pair at Shanghai airport. " I'm happy that the book came out at all but it's even more rewarding that it got such a good feedback. Some of the finest sneaker stores in Europe (Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Zurich) picked it up which in turn generated a lot of interest for Warrior shoes among youngsters in China. The 420 books and shoes pretty much sold out but I still have a few spare copies left. "
It's a pretty remarkable project, made all the more so by the fact that Shumeng is still at college where, besides going to design school, she is also doing a MA in computer science. Here's a little more about how, and why, she put the book together along with some of the photographs that feature in the book :
What made you interested in Warriors in the first place ?
I was really fascinated when I heard about their story: these shoes were the 'it' item in the 70s and my parents and their generation would daydream about a pair of Warriors back then. People would spend their weekend washing their Warriors and apply paint to keep them white ! This reminds me even of my early childhood in the 80s in China when a fridge or a color TV were the most coveted things.
Through my book, I hope to tell the story behind the shoes and I would like show a different side of China. Not the industrial and economical power, but the daily life of a country with its own distinctive sneaker culture.
Is it a small act of resistance against the all-powerful Nike etc ?
Actually, I really like Nike. It's not their fault that Chinese products are so unappealing. I would rather see my project as a small act of resistance against the state of Chinese products. From my experience, there are roughly two kinds of Chinese brands : those that are very very traditional without any innovation and those that try to appear modern and " Western " by copying their foreign counterparts.
How did you track down the manufacturer ?
Just googling, The factory has a website.
Did you have to get a model of the shoe specially made for the project or could you just buy some of their existing stock ?
No, the original model with the red stripe is still widely on sale in China. I bought from their existing stock.
Where did you take the photographs ?
I took them in the area around Kunming and Chengdu, my hometowns. One picture is from Beijing where the shoes are popular with a lot of indie musicians.
Are you going to revive any more Chinese brands ?
It's great that these old brands like Shanghai Watch and Warrior shoes are getting more appreciation, but right now I want to create something new and I'm working on a jewelry line. The style is rather hard to define. The jewelry draws inspiration from Chinese folk art but at the same time I try to infuse a fresh and slightly goofy aesthetic. Anyway, I'm very excited about the whole thing and the first samples should be ready early next year.
ALLAHYARHAM Tan Sri Mohamed Rahmat memotong rambut Amy Search (tengah) sambil diperhatikan Awie (kiri) serta ahli kumpulan Search dan Wings
KU SYAFIQ KU FOZI
02 April 2019 3:00 AM
RAMBUT panjang memang sinonim dengan penyanyi rock pada 1980-an hingga 1990-an. Itulah penampilan awal kugiran tempatan seperti Search, Wings, Lefthanded dan Bumiputra Rockers. Bagi rockers-rockers ini, imej rock mereka tidak sempurna tanpa rambut panjang. Ia adalah identiti maka memotong rambut pendek bermakna mengorbankan identiti mereka.
Isu rambut panjang sangat hangat diperkatakan ketika muzik rock berada di kemuncaknya. Search dengan lagu ‘berhantunya’, Isabella mencatat kejayaan besar setelah meraih Anugerah Juara Lagu pada 1989 dan menembusi pasaran Indonesia. Lagu itu turut diangkat menjadi filem pada 1990 dengan menampilkan Amy Search dan aktres Indonesia, Nia Zulkharnain sebagai pelakon utama.
Agak malang, rambut panjang artis rock ini dikaitkan sebagai `imej negatif’. Sebelum itu, mereka telah terpalit dengan pelbagai kontroversi termasuk gaya hidup yang bebas dan ganas. Insiden ‘rusuhan’ semasa konsert Battle Of The Band di Pulau Pinang pada 1986 juga menconteng arang ke muka artis rock.
Rock selepas itu mula disinonimkan dengan hedonisme dan budaya kuning. Semua yang berkaitan dengan rock dilihat negatif baik dari segi muzik mahupun penampilan. Kemuncaknya, penampilan artis rock yang berambut panjang diharamkan oleh kerajaan pada 1990.
Utusan Malaysia pada 16 November 2013 pernah melaporkan isu ini secara eksklusif. Dalam laporan khas itu, legenda rock seperti kumpulan Wings dan Amy Search tampil mengimbau memori dan memberi penjelasan.
Penyanyi Wings, Awie atau Datuk Ahmad Azhar Othman tidak pernah melupakan detik bersejarah pada 1 November 1992 apabila rambutnya dan Amy Search dipotong oleh Menteri Penerangan ketika itu, Allahyarham Tan Sri Mohamed Rahmat. Upacara potong rambut itu disiarkan secara langsung di RTM.
Kata Awie, walaupun tidak bersetuju pada awalnya, namun Wings dan Search relak memendekkan rambut sebagai bukti bahawa mereka dan artis rock lain tidaklah sejahat seperti yang disangka.
Walaupun sepanjang dua tahun ‘berdegil’ tidak mahu memendekkan rambut dan penampilan mereka diharamkan oleh kerajaan, Awie berkata, perkara itu tidak memutuskan rezeki mereka. Katanya, mereka masih mampu menjana pendapatan melalui undangan persembahan di fun fair dan pesta-pesta yang rata-ratanya dihadiri ribuan peminat.
Namun mengorbankan identiti bukan sesuatu yang mudah. Sisipan Mingguan Malaysia, Panca pada 8 November 1992 melaporkan, Amy dan Awie menangis selepas dipotong rambut pada upacara itu. Gambar mereka berpelukan sambil menangis yang dibidik jurugambar, Jefri Iran juga dipaparkan.
Wartawan terkenal, Juwie melaporkan, Amy berasa sedih kerana dia sudah 10 tahun membela rambut tersebut dan menganggap imej tersebut sebagai satu daripada perjuangan mereka selama terlibat dalam bidang seni.
Penampilan kedua-dua kumpulan itu selepas memotong rambut masih ada imej rock kerana syarat kerajaan ketika itu, rambut lelaki tidak boleh panjang melepasi paras bahu. Rambut mereka masih panjang dan muzik mereka masih pekat irama rock.
Cuma selepas peristiwa itu, populariti mereka tidak lagi sehebat dulu. Genre lain seperti balada juga sudah mula mendapat tempat di hati peminat. Di Barat pula, muzik hip hop perlahan-lahan mengumpul pengaruh.
Search dan Wings turut merasai kesuraman muzik rock sehingga Amy dan Awie masing-masing mula mengatur langkah membina kerjaya secara solo. Amy tampil dengan album solo pertamanya, Magic pada 1994 dengan imej botak manakala Awie juga menghasilkan album solo berjudul Awie pada tahun yang sama.
Generasi remaja pada 1980-an dan 1990-an boleh ketawa sesama sendiri sekarang mengenang era mereka berambut panjang. Apatah lagi kini setelah usia melangkaui 40-50 tahun, berambut panjang adalah amat merimaskan dan ada juga yang sudah botak.
Oct 2 2010, 12:15 AM
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