Xiyuan 29 Fashion Creation Base_Taipei Fashion Culture Museum Introduction
With the concept of trees as the design axis, the "Xiyuan 29 Fashion Creation Base" is located in the culturally rich Wanhua area. Formerly known as the Taipei Fashion Culture Hall, it has transformed into a new creative landmark for the fashion industry, surrounded by the Wanhua fashion district (Dali Fashion District), creating a three-story fashion base. The entire building, with its brick-red exterior, is designed around the concept of a "tree," aspiring to become a creative tree that absorbs the historical and cultural landscape of Wanhua, nurturing fashion design talent in Taiwan, and branching out to nourish the Wanhua fashion district. It aims to connect businesses within the district with resident designers, establishing exemplary collaborative design projects to revitalize Taiwan's fashion and garment design industry, enhancing the reputation of Taiwanese brands and design capabilities, and promoting them on the international stage. Collaborating with campuses to cultivate emerging designers is also one of the main tasks of the "Xiyuan 29 Fashion Creation Base." Currently, it not only opens its doors for campus-related faculty and students to schedule guided tours but also collaborates with schools during summer for an internship program, allowing students to understand the connection between design, marketing, and Taiwan's overall garment industry ecology through hands-on participation in the base's operations and events with designers and the Wanhua fashion district. Additionally, courses analyzing fashion trends and professional exhibitions are planned to introduce new fashion information, contributing to the cultivation of Taiwanese design talent. Walking into the first-floor lobby, the space is designed with a pure white tone, aiming to create a sensory fashion information space, akin to a fashion stage that showcases the beautiful works of designers. There is a coffee bar in the corner where visitors can leisurely sit down with a cup of coffee, enjoy design-oriented fashion pieces, read design-related publications, and seek inspiration. To learn more about the "Xiyuan 29 Fashion Creation Base," the cultural and historical development of the Wanhua area, or the personal information, creative styles, and works of resident designers, there are engaging videos playing on the first floor to help visitors quickly gather rich information, alongside interactive screens allowing the public to use Wii-like controllers to interact with the visuals to enhance their understanding of the designers. The second floor serves as the working platform for designers, housing their studios, which are not open to the public on weekdays. This is the fountain of creativity, equipped with pattern-making space and various auxiliary materials available for free to designers, enabling them to unleash their creativity and create garment works that are considered art pieces. Currently, five designers, including Hsu Yu-Chu, Tseng Wei-Hsiang, Kao Sheng-Chung, Lu Hsueh-Cheng, and Shih Yu-Lin, have set up their studios here. In the future, new designers with international market potential will be selected annually to establish residency. The third floor provides a space suitable for small fashion shows, exhibitions, and lectures, featuring thick carpets and curtains, with excellent soundproofing. To diversify and enliven the space's usage, the ceiling is equipped with tracks to create necessary spaces using movable clip partitions, and the arrangement of tracks is designed to resemble the street map of the Wanhua area. The backstage of the exhibition space features a dressing room for models. In the future, related design programs are also welcome to rent the space for courses, lectures, or fashion shows.
