Wang Ping crafts headdresses with “wasted materials”. PROVIDED TO TEENS
Dried turnip is a popular ingredient for cooking. But do you know it can also be turned into a beautiful “flower” used to decorate headdresses? Wang Ping, a photographer and stylist, has “the magic” to make this happen.
萝卜干是一种很大众的烹饪原料。但你知道萝卜干还可以变成一朵美丽的“花”用来装点头冠吗？摄影师兼设计师王平就拥有这种变萝卜干为花的“魔法”。
The 26-year-old, who owns two photography studios, became interested in crafting headdresses in 2020. He found that there wasn’t any headwear that fitted properly with the studio’s costumes. As an industrial art major, Wang is skilled at drawing. So he decided to make them on his own.
26岁的王平拥有两家摄影工作室，2020年他开始对制作头冠产生兴趣。王平发现大多数头冠和工作室的服装不搭，而作为一名工艺美术专业的学生，他擅长绘画，因此决定自己动手制作。
Basically, to craft a headdress there are three steps. “First and foremost, I do a design drawing. Then, I prepare all the materials needed and construct the framework of the headwear,” Wang said. “The last step is to assemble all materials and paint.”
制作头冠大体上有三个步骤。“首先，我会画出设计图纸。然后准备需要的所有材料，构建头饰的框架。”王平说，“最后一步，组装所有的材料，涂上颜色。”
The basic materials include iron wire, copper sheets, pearl, and fabric. Surprisingly, almost all of them are “waste” as they come from disused clothes. Wang said he had to throw away a lot of headwear and clothes that were out of fashion such as wedding dresses. “It’s indeed a waste and a loss,” Wang said. “So I decided to make the most out of these ‘waste materials’.”
基础的材料包括铁丝、铜片、珍珠和织物。令人惊讶的是，几乎所有材料都是“废品”，因为这些材料来自不用的衣服。王平说自己不得不扔掉很多头饰、婚纱等过时的衣服。“这确实是一种浪费和损失，”王平说，“所以我决定充分利用这些‘废料’。”
Wang takes them apart and collects the usable materials. “I try my best to design and make the headdresses in an environmentally friendly way,” Wang added.
王平把废弃的衣物拆开，收集可用的材料，他补充说：“我尽最大的努力去设计、制作环保的头饰。”
Among all his work, crafting the headdress made from dried turnip has been relatively simple as it just only uses several materials. “I use nail polish to prevent the food from being rotten,” Wang said.
在王平的所有作品中，用萝卜干制作的头冠相对简单，因为只用到了几种材料。王平说:“我给食物涂上指甲油防腐。”
But he is more passionate about making traditional Chinese phoenix coronets. Making one often takes from one week to up to several months as it uses up to over 30 types of materials. Moreover, the process of assembling is complicated, as he needs to place every item into the right position.
但王平更热衷于制作中国传统的凤冠。制作一顶凤冠通常需要一周至几个月的时间，因为凤冠会用到30多种材料。此外，组装凤冠的过程很复杂，王平需要把每件材料放在正确的位置。
To present the beauty of Chinese headdress, Wang has also learned how to make ancient clothes. So they can match with each other.
为了展示中国头冠之美，王平还学会了制作古代服装，让头冠、服装能够搭配。
Now, Wang is making clothing featuring a dragon. “The dragon has thousands of scales in different sizes. Every single scale should be embroidered with patterns,” Wang said. “It is estimated to take one year to complete.”
现在，王平正在制作以龙为主题的服装。“龙鳞成千上万，大小不一。每一片龙鳞都要绣上图案，”王平说，“预计需要一年时间才能完成。”
As people are embracing the growing trend of guochao, it is no wonder that Wang’s work has gained much popularity. Wang usually posts videos about how he makes headdresses on Douyin. Within one year, he has attracted over 150,000 followers.
随着“国潮”风兴起，王平的作品收获广泛关注也就不足为奇了。王平经常在抖音发布自己制作头饰的视频。不到一年，他就吸引了超过15万名粉丝。
“I’ll stick to blending traditional Chinese culture and fashionable elements to craft more exquisite headdresses,” Wang said.
王平说：“我会坚持将中国传统文化与时尚元素相结合，制作更精美的头冠。”
