Heritage hits the tracks

Going commercial

Yak wool is usually associated with warmth and rugged mountain life. A Shanghai design team, however, has been exploring how to turn the material into something for the fashion runway — and eventually, everyday wardrobes.

Working with practitioners in the Xizang autonomous region, designers from the Public Art Cooperation Center of the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts developed a yak wool haute couture collection, combining yak wool with Xinzhuang crochet, a traditional Shanghai needlework technique known for its fine, lacelike quality. The collection has been presented at various fashion events, including the Shanghai Fashion Week.

"The goal at that stage was not sales," says Zhang Chenglong, deputy director of the PACC. "It was to show that yak wool can also be fashionable, artistic and high-end."

The project is part of the PACC's broader effort over the past decade to work with heritage practitioners and designers to find contemporary applications for traditional materials and techniques.

For the yak wool project, the team focused on the material first. Designers traveled to Xizang and worked alongside local practitioners, exploring the fiber's texture and visual qualities before considering how it might become a commercial product.

Next, the team tackled the practical challenges. Yak wool can shed and feel relatively stiff, so the PACC brought in materials and supply-chain specialists to develop new processing techniques while retaining its warmth. Traditional Tibetan patterns were also reworked into contemporary designs for products including socks, scarves and shawls, according to Zhang.

The PACC has explored partnerships with cultural tourism channels, boutique stores and e-commerce platforms, while experimenting with heritage workshops in settings such as homestays, bookstores and cafes.

The idea is to link the experience of learning about or making a traditional craft with the opportunity to take a finished product home, Zhang explains.

For passengers aboard the Shandong-Xinjiang train, these ideas were much less abstract.

Not long after the train left Jinan, Wang, a passenger who regularly travels between Shandong and Xinjiang for his dried-fruit business, was drawn from his seat by the sound of gongs and drums coming from another carriage.

He joined the crowd to watch a performance of Jiaozhou Yangge, a lively traditional folk dance from Shandong known for its energetic rhythms and colorful costumes. He then followed the scent of incense to a nearby workshop where passengers were making sachets. He eventually rolled up his sleeves and joined in.

"Normally I just sleep or scroll on my phone when I take the train," Wang says, laughing as he brushed incense powder from his hands. "But on this train, I've been busier than at a market."