SABRA ANDRE

SABRA ANDRE

 

Creativity must be built upon culture instead of exploiting culture; I like to think of myself as a filter, using clothing as a carrier to reinterpret the traditional culture of indigenous people.

 

"Taiwan's fashion scene cannot afford to be without indigenous elements!"

At the graduation exhibition of the Department of Fashion Design, Shih Chien University in 2009, SABRA ANDRE clinched first place in the graduation exhibition with a design collection integrating art installation, gothic style, and Taiwanese indigenous elements. In the same year, he took top honors in the Taiwan Textile Federation's National Fashion Design Competition, kicking off his career as a fashion Designer. In 2011, he founded his brand SABRA ANDRE.

Speaking of Taiwan's fashion development, SABRA ANDRE expressed that when talking about internationalization, a lot of Taiwanese people are ready to abandon their own culture from the get-go, ignoring the fact that culture is the most important root and the first step in realizing market differentiation.

"At present, indigenous cultural workers can be divided into two schools. One is the traditional school that strives to recover the lost culture, and the other is the innovative school that seeks to transform traditional culture. I believe the two must coexist because they are equally important." As far as the innovation and transformation of the traditional culture are concerned, SABRA ANDRE has unique persistence and faith. "Cultural creation should not be just a 'point-to-point' linear process of turning 'indigenous culture' into 'indigenous commodities'. If the creators do not go through the self-internalization process, commodities will become 'cultural consumption' instead of 'cultural creativity.'" 

SABRA ANDRE elaborated that he acts as a "filter" between "culture" and "products," converting nutrients from the traditional culture into new symbols; three points are required to form a line and a surface, creating a brand new dimension from traditional culture. 

"My motifs have all been recreated by internalizing and reproducing various elements, hence they are very different from the traditional motifs."

Breaking the existing symbolic framework and engendering his symbolic meaning, SABRA ANDRE has repeatedly demonstrated his unique creative style in his collections. The 2018 collection is named XXX, where the theme of "cross-stitch" is presented in the form of symbols. In 2019, he named his collection ||||||, combining the most basic element of fabrics – straight lines – with indigenous culture to create avant-garde garments. SABRA ANDRE said with a smile that his creations often left the emcee befuddled because they have no clue how to pronounce names such as XXX or ||||||. "Words are also a system of symbols, but if I can create my symbols, I won't need words to help me tell stories." This year, SABRA ANDRE returned to Taitung to paint the stunning views of his hometown into several oil paintings, which will be transformed into a brand-new fashion collection. 

 

 

Talent can change a person

SABRA ANDRE recalled that he left Taitung after 3rd grade and only returned to the village and the place where he grew up in recent years to get reacquainted with it. Having been forced to drop out of school to work due to financial pressure in the family, SABRA ANDRE is acutely aware of the importance of education. "Taitung County has the highest ratio of indigenous people among all the municipalities in the country. Many children don't like to study, and are often forced to go to a random school to receive higher education." According to SABRA ANDRE, the Taitung County Government has recently launched three special classes including new media interaction, fashion and aesthetic design, and pop music performance, enabling students to start developing their interests as early as junior high school. In particular, he was honored to be invited to be the teacher of the fashion and aesthetic design class. "During the process of teaching, I discovered that the indigenous children are very sensitive to the application of color transformation, and they are generally extremely gifted."

SABRA ANDRE pointed out that he would lead students to observe the branches and leaves in nature to cultivate their sense of color in class. When collecting color-related assignments one day, he was astonished by the spectacular creation of an indigenous child because of his bold use of colors and strong contrasts instead of traditional complementary and contrasting colors. SABRA ANDRE asked him to come to the front of the class to explain his creative process.

Thereafter, SABRA ANDRE learned indirectly from the other teachers that the student is usually not very good at expressing his words and emotions. Moreover, there are many problems in his family, and his father was a criminal. After the student was invited to speak in front of the class by SABRA ANDRE, he felt a sense of achievement and gradually gained self-confidence. From a color-psychology point of view, SABRA ANDRE believes that perhaps the student has used such powerful colors to express his inner feelings because he is not good at doing so via other means. To see such raw talent coming from a small child is exceptionally rare. "Talent can change a person!" SABRA ANDRE said firmly: "I received a lot of assistance from other people in the past, and now I wish to help other people."

 Besides children's education, SABRA ANDRE also emphasizes the livelihood of tribal workshops. He frequently collaborates with workshops to ensure the sustainability of the tribal cultural industry. "Many moms in the village boast decent craftsmanship. If I can create jobs for them, they will have a stable income and be able to take care of their children and grandchildren." For SABRA ANDRE, clothing is a carrier of tribal culture, the sustainability and heritage of craftsmanship, and a sense of mission that flows through his veins. 

 

"Symbols are not defined at any particular moment, but a process of interpretation by subsequent generations."

"After the opening show of |||||| last year, I received a comment from an audience member saying that wrapping all the models in black cloth was discrimination against black people." SABRA ANDRE commented helplessly "It's all about perspective, if my models were wrapped in white cloth, I probably wouldn't have been accused of discriminating against white people." Misunderstandings are bound to occur during the process of sending and interpreting people's messages; the same principle applies to art and symbols. For SABRA ANDRE, the existence of symbols cannot be defined at any particular moment.

"As far as I'm concerned, the concept of time is not its length but its depth, taking place on the same point, day after day, involving non-linear flow and co-existence." SABRA ANDRE noted that the so-called words and symbols do not exist in indigenous traditional culture. Later generations tried to understand the context of their creation by studying the traditional motifs and endowing them with meaning. What he is doing now is absorbing the cultural nutrients, internalizing them, and creating his exclusive symbols and motifs. SABRA ANDRE laughed and said, "Although the world may not comprehend them yet, perhaps one day in the future, my symbols and motifs can be interpreted by future generations to obtain a more holistic understanding of their significance."

Heritage and innovation are two sides of the same coin, and they are interdependent. With SABRA ANDRE, we see his love and respect for the tribal culture, as well as the reproduction and innovation of culture from a futuristic perspective. Perhaps this is precisely the mentality that is required of the indigenous cultural and creative industry when faced with potential developments in the future.

Build a firm foundation without forgetting one's roots before marching forward intrepidly to start a brand new chapter in cultural development. 

 

Contact information: 

SABRA ANDRE/Chinese name Kao Sheng-Chung

Tribe: Paiwan

Brand: SABRA ANDRE