“Wearing a Whole Tree: A New Way to Display Subjectivity?”

Yuhang Li (Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison), “Wearing a Whole Tree: A New Way to Display Subjectivity?”

The whole tree design discussed in this paper refers to a particular fashion style in which the shape of a costume is treated as a canvas. A complete single tree or a cluster of assorted plants is arranged on the garment according to the sections of the torso, shoulders, and arms. The tree roots often start from the edge of the front of a garment, the tree trunk occupies the main section of the front, branches extend to shoulders and sleeves to constitute a holistic representation of a plant. When someone wears such a garment, the wearer’s body is embraced within the tree/s.  The anatomical body of the wearer beneath the attire coincides with the trunk and branches on the clothing. The surviving garments, fabrics and textual sources suggest that such design was already used on theatrical costumes during the Qianlong period. Scholars have discussed extensively the long-established tradition of the analogies of human beings and vegetation and anthropomorphism of plants in Chinese ancient literature, philosophy, visual arts, and religions. However, the inquiry on the materialization of the allegorical meaning of the image of nature in relation to embodiment has been understudied. In this paper, I will first trace the historical development of this new fashion design in both theatrical costume and daily dress. I will address the questions such as how is the wearer’s subjectivity expressed through such an individualized, holistic, and theatricalized form? How is such a new style intertwined with different notions of body and nature as China transitioned from empire to nation-state?