Editor's Note
Abstract
In the context of rapid globalization and digitalization, design has increasingly become a key force in activating and transforming traditional cultural resources. Especially in this era, filled with both challenges and opportunities, traditional culture not only needs to be preserved but also revitalized and reinterpreted through innovative design. Design in the new era not only focuses on the innovation of aesthetics but also emphasizes the balance between cultural inheritance and innovation. The rapid development of digital technology provides a powerful tool for the recreation and innovation of traditional culture, allowing us to re-examine traditional crafts, art symbols, and cultural values from new perspectives, and to promote their creative transformation and innovative development.This special issue of Fashion Technology focuses on the theme of "How design can activate traditional cultural resources and promote their creative transformation and innovative development in the context of the new era." A selection of research papers is presented, covering a wide range of topics from the modernization of traditional craftsmanship to cross-cultural design and the application of digital intelligence technologies. These studies provide in-depth theoretical and practical discussions, elucidating how design utilizes technology to empower traditional culture, giving it new vitality in modern society.
Firstly, Yiyi Jin and Baohua Zhang researched the "warp and weft extraction" technique in Chaoshan drawn work and explored how it is translated into modern design through subtraction logic. This research analyzes the aesthetics and structural logic of traditional craftsmanship, proposing how to organically integrate tradition and modernity in modern design. It emphasizes the application of "warp and weft extraction" in creative transformation, breaking through the limitations of traditional craftsmanship and offering us new design ideas. Meanwhile, Yachen Jin, Zheng Yao, and Yue Zhou analyzed the symbolic meaning of gold in traditional Chinese artifacts, revealing how the color gold influences aesthetic perception and cultural symbolism. This study provides strong theoretical support for understanding the dialogue between traditional art and modern aesthetics.In the field of cross-cultural design, Qiantong (Pei Ying) Wong, Hui Chen, and Kevin Y H Shuai explored sculptural ornaments in the technological age, particularly how geometry and material intelligence give traditional ornamental patterns new life in cross-cultural contexts. The study discusses how modern technology can reproduce the structural aesthetics of traditional patterns and transform them into a design language that transcends cultural barriers, promoting the global dissemination of traditional art. In relation, Yuxiang Wu and Bo Yuan used Citespace for a visual analysis of Huayao culture literature, revealing research trends and future directions in this field, providing profound insights into how design language can bring traditional culture to the global stage.
Additionally, Ran Zhou's research, through analyzing the ecological adaptation of traditional Jiangnan water settlements, proposed ecological strategies for lowland and upland settlements in design, emphasizing how, in design practice, the harmonious relationship between natural environment and social development can be leveraged to drive the innovation and regeneration of traditional settlement spatial forms. This study offers a new perspective for design thinking in the protection and transformation of traditional villages and provides practical guidance on integrating ecological design with cultural heritage preservation.In the framework of digital intelligent design, Tianhang Zhu, Zhi Yang, and Yue Chao researched how digital intelligence technologies promote the innovative design of traditional Chinese patterns. They analyzed how digitalization empowers the recreation of traditional craftsmanship, allowing traditional patterns to transcend the boundaries of time and space, achieving new visual expressions and functional transformations in modern design. At the same time, Chuyi Chen and Yue Zhou explored the symbolic meanings of the pine tree in Chinese art and culture and its re-presentation in modern design, analyzing how traditional cultural symbols are reinterpreted through design innovation in the context of globalization.
Moreover, Cenchen Yang, Tianhang Zhu, and Yuzhou Jia studied the innovative narrative design of minority culture, particularly how modern design techniques transform traditional stories such as creation epics into visual language in children's literature, emphasizing the combination of cultural symbols and modern design language. Ying Xu's research explores how animation design interprets the historical culture of the Beijing Central Axis from a cross-cultural communication perspective, analyzing how modern design language presents traditional cultural elements to a global audience, thus promoting the internationalization of traditional culture. Finally, Manfei Lu researched the visual language and material mechanisms of Shaanxi paper-cutting, explaining how paper-cutting art demonstrates the charm of traditional craftsmanship through material transformation and visual reconstruction, offering new inspiration for modern design. Through these studies, this issue fully demonstrates the tremendous potential of design in activating and transforming traditional culture, especially in the process of re-creating traditional craftsmanship, art, and cultural symbols, and how modern technology can drive their innovative development.
Each article in this special issue, from different perspectives and cultural backgrounds, showcases how design, through technological empowerment, cross-cultural exchange, and the re-interpretation of traditional cultural symbols, can promote the innovation and transformation of traditional culture in the new era. We believe these studies will provide rich theoretical support and practical references for future cultural design innovations, offering valuable insights for interdisciplinary exchanges in academia, the design industry, and cultural industries. We sincerely appreciate your support for Fashion Technology, and look forward to continuing to explore the infinite possibilities of design with you, driving the innovative transformation and application of traditional culture in modern society.
