Two pairs of dusty, pastel-orange roller skates. A ram’s skull. Several meters of tangled, bright red rope. They aren’t the sort of items you’d find in the great fashion houses of Europe or on North American catwalks.
But, for unconventional Chinese designer and performance artist Wan Yunfeng, they are perfect.
From his small apartment in eastern Beijing, Wan makes fashion that only he wears.
His distinctive gowns are crafted from discarded items, draped and twisted around his body and photographed to send a message about the destructive power of human consumption.
“I make clothes to bring awareness to the environment, it is performance art. So of course you can’t wear these clothes in daily life, it is to deliver a message of environmental protection,” he said.
The criticism has affected Wan in the past.
At one point, he postponed his work and threw out many of his earlier creations. But now he has decided it is important for him to carry on. “If even just one person is influenced by me, I should do it,” he said.
“Criticism is OK, exaggeration is OK too. I just have to protect our environment. I just believe that everyone should work to protect our environment, don’t you think?”
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