Laurence Wen-Yu Li 李文玉 is a Taiwanese PhD researcher studying History of Design at the Royal College of Art and Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Find more information on her reconstruction and Chinese fashion history video projects on this site.

About

My research centers around cultural studies of ribbons in late Qing Chinese women’s clothing, as well as how the methodological approach of reconstruction works in the context of Chinese clothing.

Education

PhD in History of Design (expected 2027)

Royal College of Art/Victoria & Albert Museum

Master of Arts in Textiles and Clothing (2023)

Fu Jen Catholic University

Bachelor of Science in Plant Pathology and Microbiology (2019)

National Taiwan University

Refashioning Culture

Series of videos on Chinese historical clothing produced for the Chinese Textiles and Clothing Culture Center (Fu Jen Catholic University, Taipei), researched, scripted, and presented by Laurence. Includes: Clothing Through the Ages, a series on women’s clothing in Imperial China spanning 2500+ years (left), and two-part documentary series on reconstructing and wearing two late Qing Han Chinese women’s ensembles (right).

Watch more here!

Presentations and Publications

Li, L. W. and Chen, V. W. “Beyond the Flat Case: Redisplaying Late Qing Chinese Clothing through Interdisciplinary, Conservation-Informed Practice.” Poster presented at the Dress and Textiles Specialists 50th Anniversary Conference, University of Brighton, United Kingdom, 25 September 2025.

Li, L. W. (2025). Making and Remaking Traditional Chinese Dress: Refining Recreative Practice through Collaboration with Professional Qipao Tailors [Conference presentation]. Association for Art History Annual Conference 2025, University of York, York, UK.

Li, L. W. (2024). Framing the Body: The Usage of Silk Ribbons on Women’s Undergarments in Late Qing China [Conference presentation]. Border Control: Design History Society Annual Conference, University for the Creative Arts, Canterbury, UK.

Li, L. W. (2024). From Qipao to Dajinshan: How Heritage Skills can Inform Recreative Practice [Conference presentation]. Making Historical Dress Network Festival, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK.

Li, L. W. (2023). The Bilingual Project: Challenges and Rewards of Presenting Reconstruction of Chinese Dress to an English-Speaking Audience [Conference presentation]. Making Historical Dress Network Workshop, Chawton, UK. 

Li, L. W. (2023). “Reconstructing Late Qing Han Chinese Women’s Dress through Making and Wearing.” In Proceedings of the 25th IFFTI Annual Conference (2023), 387-400. Otago, New Zealand: International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institutes, 2023.

Ho, Z. H. (Eds.), Wang, T. Y. (2022). Decoding the Secret of Miao: Splendid clothing and embroidery samplers in Geyi style (L. W. Li, Trans). New Taipei City: Chinese Textiles and Clothing Culture Center, Department of Textiles and Clothing, Fu Jen Catholic University.

Write me an email: laurence.li@rca.ac.uk

Find me on Instagram: @laurencewenyuli

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