Chinese Dress in Detail (Victoria and Albert Museum), Sau Fong Chan, Sarah Duncan

Chinese Dress in Detail is a sumptuous, richly illustrated dive into the aesthetics, craftsmanship, and cultural resonance of Chinese attire, framed through the Victoria and Albert Museum’s extraordinary collection. Each garment is revealed in close‑up detail—from meticulously woven brocades and intricate silk embroideries to the discreet nuances of cut and construction—illuminating how fabric, form and adornment carry history, identity, and tradition. Accompanied by insightful captions and commentary, the book weaves together technical annotation with poetic reflection, spotlighting dress as living heritage shaped by imperial ceremonies, regional customs and contemporary revivals.

Presented in an elegant “in‑detail” format, the volume feels akin to a curator guiding you through a private viewing—double‑page spreads alternate between full‑dress compositions and macro lens shots of stitching, buttons, cuff linings and subtle motifs. Technical boxes explain weaves, dye processes and tailoring techniques, while essays frame the evolving role of dress across dynastic epochs, social ranks and global cultural exchanges. The result is both a visual feast and a scholarly resource, inviting readers to appreciate Chinese sartorial expression not only as a spectacle, but as a tactile dialogue between material, maker and wearer.

About the Author
Sau Fong Chan, Curator in the V&A’s Asia Department, brings a profound understanding of Chinese material culture, with a particular focus on textiles and costume. Her curatorial voice is deeply rooted in the lived histories of dress, and she is committed to reinterpreting traditional garments through a contemporary, cross-cultural lens. Chan’s work combines scholarly rigour with a sensibility for the emotional and symbolic weight of cloth.

Sarah Duncan, Assistant Curator at the V&A, specialises in East Asian fashion and textiles. With a background in design history, she brings an acute eye for material detail, as well as a thoughtful appreciation of the dialogues between historical craftsmanship and modern aesthetics. Together, Chan and Duncan offer a perspective that is both academically rich and visually intuitive—reintroducing these garments not just as museum artefacts, but as objects alive with memory, movement, and meaning

Publication date: 2023
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Pages: 267
ISBN: 9780500480939