Dongni Zhang

About

Dongni Zhang is a multidisciplinary designer who focuses on the area of fashion and moving image.In the latest project Dongni made during lock down,she tried to let the garments themselves engage in the film as sets which reflect the concept of the film and push the story forward.

Contact

Degree Details

Statement

「Live in Boxes」is an experimental project exploring how garments could be seen in moving image works. The aim of the project is to let the garment itself become a part of the story-line of a film. Based on the concept of “Environment as suit / Suit as Environment”, I’ve tried to put the garment on the same scale of other environments surrounding the body, such as the room, a building, the city, and so on. To just see the garment as the closest layer to the body. I’ve built garments as sets for a film which lets them be seen as the surrounding environment for the body of the main character. Two looks were made to represent the reality of the character, and her daydream space. The symbolism was visualized in a mixed-media film merging real-life shot footage of the garments and 2D animated effects for the character. The film captures a moment of daydream, and tried to reflect these two sides of life that alternate. 

LIVE IN BOXES

LIVE IN BOXES — //Made during Lockdown. // Film & Fashion by Dongni Zhang. // Music by The Mamas & The Papas: Jim O'Rourke. Sound mixed by Dongni Zhang.//
Charactor Design
Charactor Design
Set Design-Dream space
Set Design-Dream space
Side Green
Side Green — Model thx: Peipei Tang
Side Green
Side Green
Set Design -Real Life
Set Design -Real Life
Side Red
Side Red —
Side Red
Side Red

As a cinemagoer, I have always been inspired by the screen works I grew up watching. Most of the time, storytelling is the core of a film. It is also key to a fashion designer’s work. I’ve asked myself: “how can garments be seen differently in moving image works, besides appearing in films as the costume worn by an actress or actor?” I tried to let the garments themselves engage in the film as sets which reflect the concept of the film and push the story forward. In the future, I plan to continue working on projects focused on storytelling and try to bring fashion and film together in new ways.

Medium: Moving image

Sponsors