Swans and Firebirds — Feathers and Fantasy of Xiaolin Design
Written by Yinsey Wang
Photography Courtesy of the Stephen Zane, Julia Chew, and Mela Dailey
Jade Dress at the Appleton Museum of Art. Photo by Stephen Zane
Photo by Julia Chew
Adopted from China by a Chinese-American father and American mother, Julia grew up with two sisters in a household that would celebrate their heritage, most memorably through the enjoyment of food and commemorating the Lunar New Year. A love of sewing was instilled in Julia at a young age and her childhood hobby spun into a fully-fledged business. Julia created other-worldly gowns that have graced the runways of Oxford Fashion Week in the United Kingdom, Christian Fashion Week and Park Avenue Fashion Week in the United States of America, as well as the pages of multiple magazines and platforms including BuzzFeed, Rangefinder and Vogue.
Photo courtesy of Mela Dailey.
Her creations take life from the characters she forms in her mind, unfurling into splendid gowns boasting stunning details such as feathery arrangements or intricately mapped lace. Julia’s dresses have distinct identities, wearing one feels almost like an act of storytelling in itself. Her powerful, red firebird series, espousing glamour and regal power, whereas her swan-like creations move so elegantly and delicately, including her range of popular wedding capes. One of my favourites of Julia’s dresses is her gold feather gown with its plunging neckline and sprawling mermaid-like train. Such gown also symbolizes the greatest highlight of her designing career so far when the soprano, Mela Dailey, wore that gown at the Grammy Awards. For Julia, having her work on a red carpet was a dream that materialized into a wonderful reality.
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With successes, there are also challenges. Julia insisted on using her Chinese name, Xiaolin, as part of her brand and mentioned that, being based in Florida, “some people have teased me about it, and it is often mispronounced, and people are confused by it.” Her signature of using an abundance of feathers have also resulted in people calling her “Big Bird” or other names due to a confusion surrounding her design aesthetic. Unperturbed, Julia noted that she realises authenticity in how she creates and willingly embraces her culture and passions. Sticking to these principles has allowed her to achieve some wonderful things. Her advice to fellow creatives is “to have faith in yourself, even if you might find yourself at odds with others' aesthetics, because there will be people out there who appreciate your art and what you can offer”.
Photo by Julia Chew
“With successes, there are also challenges. Julia insisted on using her Chinese name, Xiaolin, as part of her brand and mentioned that, being based in Florida, “some people have teased me about it, and it is often mispronounced, and people are confused by it.” … Unperturbed, Julia noted that she realizes authenticity in how she creates and willingly embraces her culture and passions.”
Julia has found clients willing to invest in her work given its uniqueness and drama. Julia’s designs have classic silhouettes and striking materials and in that, she aims for her clients to feel empowered and graceful. Julia recalls one memorable client, the Appleton Museum, that provided her with a list of antiques on which to base a gown. She selected a Chinese jade vase and immediately decided to create from that. She chose tulle to act as her canvas and innovated by adding features to mimic what she imagined to be the perfect complement for the vase, cherry blossoms.
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Julia Marie Chew’s story is one of self-belief, resilience and dedication to her craft. Despite initially finding it difficult to conform her designs to the appetites of Floridian society, those designs have stood out and garnered attention across the world. Indeed, her work touched one particular internet user in me those many years ago and Julia has been inspiring me since. So, what of the future? Although feathers, as she points out, are her signature, Julia hopes to branch out and explore new materials, in particular fine laces and silks. In terms of her bridal collection, she hopes to include Chinese-inspired wedding gowns, hoping to add to her palette red, black and gold, in addition to her staple of white. We wait in anticipation for her future designs.
