Handy with fashion tech

In 2008, then-10-year-old Hu Ping was happy to see fireworks in the streets on the night of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing. During the Games, she celebrated China's medal tally and says she felt that people who fight for the honor of their country are quite remarkable.

At that time, she didn't think that one day she would be representing China as a champion in a non-sports field.

Hu won the gold medal for fashion technology at the 44th WorldSkills Competition held in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates in 2017. The biennial competition is considered the top contest in the sector.

In September, China announced its delegation for the WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition. This was the replacement for the competition that was to be held in Shanghai in October but got canceled due to the COVID-19 outbreak there. Hu became the training coach for the Chinese participants to prepare for the competition, passing on her experience and skills in fashion design and production.

As an ace in the field, Hu spends her day engaging in handy work such as painting, stitching, sewing, cutting and holding an iron. Although Hu is just 24, her fingers appear to be wrinkled due to their constant use.

"Applying hand cream will make my hands slippery, which affects my work," Hu says. "My teacher always tells us that people who work with clothing cannot leave any smell on the clothes you make."

When Hu was a child, she liked to paint and make clothes for her dolls. In 2013, she decided to turn her hobby into professional study, for which she went to Beijing Industry and Trade Technician College, majoring in fashion designing and production.

After enrolling, Hu realized that the skills she needed to learn included not only designing but also fashion production. She was inspired by her then-senior Chen Bihua who won the bronze medal for fashion technology at the 43rd WorldSkills Competition in 2015 and signed up for the qualification trials at the school for the 44th edition of the competition.

To have the opportunity to get to the place where she could represent China in the WorldSkills Competition, Hu needed to go through several rounds of selection. She had to be selected for the Beijing team first before making it to the top 10 in the country. After making the top two, she had a final round, defeating the other competitor, to become the national champion.

After she made it to the top 10 in the country, Hu was selected for the national training team to better prepare her for the competition. The training was hard yet worthwhile for Hu. The coaches paid more attention to the development of the contestants' professionalism and industry standards. Many coaches often created difficulties during training by shortening the competition time, increasing the difficulty level or raising the standard.

"They even created obstacles for me during the simulation competitions such as providing an iron which was not easy to use," Hu says. "It was through such training that I improved my skills and honed my ability to face emergencies and solve problems."

One of her training sections was an internship at a clothing company. By taking up real tasks, Hu strengthened her ability to respond, improve the product design, master the skill of screening fabrics and refine the skill of craft production. She also attended some design classes at the Central Academy of Fine Arts and helped the students turn their design into finished clothes. The process helped find "my professional value", Hu says.

Preparing well

In October 2017, after a year and four months of preparation, Hu took part in the competition in Abu Dhabi which she still remembers in great detail.

Champions of 30 nations and regions competed in the event that lasted three and a half days, with each competitor required to complete five modules, including three-dimensional cutting and design, sewing and finishing a ready-to-wear garment in about 18 hours. The first task was to cut a dress, based on a photo. The contestants needed to make a one-to-one replica of the dress and design its back accordingly. She replicated the dress closely.

"Your eyes need to become a ruler to measure the size of each part of the dress, and as the fabric provided is limited, the error-tolerant rate of making the dress is quite low," Hu recalls.

As she was finishing the first module, Hu says she noticed the audience and her competitors gathering around her piece and praising it, which boosted her confidence.

The last three consecutive modules led to the finished garment. Five elements were randomly picked on site and each competitor had to design and make a dress accordingly. The fifth module had a "mystery box"' that contained a selection of surprise materials that a competitor could use to make any accessory for the dress.

"From the characteristics of each fabric to the variations of each of the 72 dresses, I had to remember them all," Hu says about the dresses she had to make in advance as preparation for that module.

Some challenges came up. Her sewing machine broke down during the competition and one part of the event was held in a noisy outdoor shed that had a bumpy floor where it was hard for Hu to draw smooth lines for her design.

Inspiration

"I had to complete a whole team's work by myself in the competition. From design and plate-making to craft work and more — all were covered in the five modules," Hu says, adding that to win the competition, she had to master a skill in each area without weakness.

Hu won the gold medal in 2017 after scoring 8 points higher than the silver-medal winner. Two years earlier, Chen was only one point away from the gold medal, but ranked third.

When standing on the podium to receive the gold medal, Hu was excited.

"For me, the competition was a process of exploration and joy, and help among competitors. The experience is unforgettable," Hu says.

Hu studied for two years on a full scholarship at the Beijing campus of French fashion design school Esmod after her 2017 win.

"At Esmod, my designing skill improved greatly and I learned how to present my ideas about garments," she says.

Hu returned to Beijing Industry and Trade Technician College to teach after that. "Teaching is a good process of constantly accumulating knowledge because when you teach, you also have to improve yourself," she adds.

Gao Ziyi, 21, one of Hu students, says with not much of an age gap, Hu is always willing to discuss with her ideas even though some are quirky. "When she tries to convince you to make a change, she is persuasive rather than forceful," Gao says.

Gao was in the national team that had prepared for the 46th World-Skills Competition, which was earlier scheduled to be held in Shanghai.

"Hu's story was part of the reason which inspired me to take part in the competition," Gao says.

Gao lost to Dong Qing in the national selection and became an assistant to Hu.

In June, the competition was canceled, and the WorldSkills organization decided to host a special edition of 62 competitive events in 15 countries and regions in Asia, Europe and Africa from September to November. The fashion technology segment will be held from Oct 20 to 23 in Helsinki. Hu is a coach of the Chinese team for that part of the special edition.

Hu and Gao have also taken the simulation contest with Dong to help her better prepare for the competition.

"It's actually teamwork," Hu says, recalling that when she was the national champion, the runner-up stayed with her to prepare for the WorldSkills competition.

As China plans to host the World-Skills Competition in Shanghai in 2026, Hu says it's a good time to pass on her knowledge and skills to those preparing.