Beijing Artist Celebrates Women's Day With Workshop Focusing on Fashion and Florals

Contrary to what Miranda Priestly suggests in the film The Devil Wears Prada, florals are a perennial fashion spring staple, at least for the average fashion aficionado. Ella (Zhao Hong), a self-taught artist in Beijing, celebrates this year’s International Women’s Day holiday with something many women are passionate about – fashion and flowers – at an upcoming workshop.

Ella’s art focuses on confident women being fashionable, women going about their favorite activities, posing with their favorite fruits or with what one could call their “favorite men” (she does customized wedding portraits besides illustrations for events). Her style is spunky, bursting with color and joie de vivre and is a bit reminiscent of pop art with a touch of humor.

You might have spotted her exhibiting her works at aotuspace near Yonghegong; her art also graces tote-bags, mugs and other items and can be found on Xiao Hongshu and Instagram. She is a Heilongjiang native and has been living in Beijing for over ten years total.

Your motto is “Love fashion. Love drawing. Love colorful Life.” What got you interested in drawing and fashion?
Art and fashion have always been my passion. My mom told me once that I drew many small pictures when I was like five or six, very vividly and quickly... Later, I got the chance to work in a fast fashion company which was the first time I truly stepped into the industry and it opened my mind. It was a dazzling, colorful, whole new world. I quickly started engaging in design/creation work. I really wanted to study in a professional school but the incredibly high expenses scared me away. I found out fashion illustration is the basic skill for fashion design, plus it is also arty. So I picked up my pen and started to draw. Fashion is not only about making clothes, it is also a lifestyle.

The name of your brand is “Good Eye.” How did you come up with this intriguing name?
When I visited the U.S. in 2015, it was also my first time in the Western world, and I got some comments from my American husband’s family on my style. They all said I had a good eye. Then I thought, “Oh, I might be able to create something pretty.”  In 2021 I launched my fashion art brand—Good Eye Fashion Art (时尚插画 ).  … Let your life shine and let beautiful arts shine in your eyes.

Which fashion icon and/or artist do you admire and why?
One is CHUNRAN, a young Chinese man. His fashion illustrations have a very strong and special style. I like how he describes his drawings: different combinations of lines created with your markers. You see, art is not hard, it is what is in your mind, it just needs you to put it on paper.

I also admire another great artist named David Downton, who draws fashion illustration portraits. He has the magic ability to capture the most fashionable sides of a person or style. Downton once said: "In my experience you don’t find a style, it finds you, eventually."

Does the city life in Beijing inspire your art in any way?
Yes, it does. Most of my close friends all live in Beijing. The times we've spent together have really inspired me a lot. … There is one style in my art category called “Beijing lifestyle,” all inspired by Beijing life, such as the hutong theme, lockdown time, modern girls… One of my bestselling picture series is named “Hello, Beijing.”

What does Women’s Day mean to you?
We [women] will have half a day off from work. In recent years, people have started to call it 女神节 nǚshén jié (Goddess Day) instead of 妇女节 fùnǚ jié (Women's Day), which was created for commercial use... I choose to see the holiday as reminding us [women] to be beautiful and powerful, soft and strong.

What motivated you to hold a fashion illustration workshop for this year’s Women’s Day except for promoting your art? What are your expectations for the upcoming Women’s Day workshop?
I don’t know whether it was a coincidence that Women’s Day was established to be celebrated in March, in the spring season. It’s the time all life on Earth starts to wake up and grow. You are feeling full of energy, like a flower ready to bloom. Then I think why not decorate yourself with flowers, making the blooming energy a part of yourself. I expect that attendees will be able to make their own designs a reality, enjoy being fashionable, and “bloom like flowers”!

Ella’s fashion illustration workshop will take place on March 11th starting at 2pm. Location: Shine for You Art studio. 1 fl, C, Galaxy Soho. Cost: RMB 258, which includes all art materials,  tools as well as one drink. You need to bring one item of clothing. Only 10 spots available, so please sign up as soon as possible by scanning the QR code on the event poster.

READ: Even More International Women’s Day Events and Deals

Images: courtesy of Ella