Heading for success

"Yang told me of the concept of the dance drama, which touched me deeply," Sui recalls. "She said her age is in winter for human beings and her dance moves may not be as flexible as when she was younger, but she is still active on the stage, showing people that even though her body is in winter, her soul and her faith for the stage is still there."

Sui designed a white headpiece for Yang, with feathers and snow patterns symmetrically placed on both sides. "Her spirit for the show made me want to hug her, so that I designed the headwear that looked like the fully-fanned-out tail of a white peacock to wrap up her head, which represents a kind of protective affection," he explains.

This headwear later accompanied Yang on tour, as she performed the dance drama in numerous cities.

"There are few millinery designers in China, especially for customized headwear. Luckily the market is comprehensive enough in which such a niche field of millinery can survive," Sui says.

Sui is also a part-time lecturer at the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology. "Millinery is still a niche field in design, which is unpopular among students," Sui says. "When I teach millinery design, I can tell the students are more interested in clothes and accessories. They prefer bags and shoes."

Qiu Qingying, 28, a select shop owner in Shanghai, has been matching clothes and accessories for eight years. She now has three stores, in Melbourne, Shanghai, and Foshan, Guangdong province.