10 Questions with Ruihong Liu

Ruihong Liu is a distinguished fashion designer whose body of work is deeply rooted in the art of documentation. Captivated by the fragility and significance of memories, she intricately weaves these themes into her creations, resulting in delicate and intimate fashions. As an alumna of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Ruihong's methodology invites contemplation and connection while preserving precious moments. She asserts that memories are the eternal threads that compose the fabric of our being, akin to the delicate petals of a flower vulnerable to external influences. In the everyday aspects of life, Ruihong discovers treasures to cherish, crafting her designs as a boudoir for these memories—a sanctuary for her innermost reflections and a mirror of her soul. Her work creates a unique space for others to reflect and connect with their own experiences, capturing the ephemeral and transforming it into something enduring and significant. Ruihong prides herself on creating fashion that resonates personally with her audience, providing a glimpse into her inner world while encouraging exploration of their own. Her collections transcend conventional fashion design, embodying a deep commitment to the art of memory and documentation while serving as timeless artefacts that preserve the delicate beauty of life's transitory moments.

www.ruihongliu.com | @ruihong1iu

ARTIST STATEMENT

Ruihong Liu, a Chinese-born artist now based in New York, delves into the fragility and significance of memories in her art. Acknowledging that memories are transient and susceptible to the tumultuous currents of life, Liu creates garments and installations characterized by their soft and intimate qualities, aiming to safeguard and reveal these precious fragments. Her works provide spaces for contemplation and connection. Drawing inspiration from her journey and experiences, Liu crafts pieces that bridge the past and the present. She elicits both tactile and emotional responses by using meticulously crafted materials such as paper and fabric, complemented by evocative soundscapes. Liu invites viewers to explore their memories and reflect on the delicate balance between preserving the past and moving forward. Her work represents the culmination of her passion for sound, sewing, poetry, and photography, merging these elements into a form that explores the most intimate facets of human existence.

YIN YANG - TWIN FLAME, Fashion Photography, 2024 © Ruihong Liu

INTERVIEW

Please introduce yourself to our readers. Who are you, and how did you develop into the artist you are today?

I am a multidisciplinary artist and fashion designer, and my work revolves around memory, time, and materiality. My practice is based on the idea that memory is fluid, constantly changing, and shaped by both individual experiences and collective history. Through fashion, installation art, and interdisciplinary media, I attempt to materialize the ephemeral—capturing the traces of what is fading, questioning what it means to "remember," and embracing the inevitable reshaping of time.
My journey spans China, Chicago, and New York, each place shaping my artistic perspective in different ways. Growing up in China, I was deeply influenced by the philosophy of duality and coexistence—presence and absence, preservation and dissolution, eternity and transience. Later, my studies in Chicago exposed me to more conceptual and experimental design thinking, which encouraged me to break boundaries and explore new forms. Now, New York is my creative base, where I continue to explore how fashion can transcend the body, becoming a container for memory, a space for contemplation, and a medium for emotional connection.
I do not see clothing as a static object but as a "living record"—it changes with the passage of time, wears down with touch, and even presents new states in different environments, just like memory itself, which continually evolves. Through my work, I seek to explore: How can we capture fleeting moments? How do we find new narratives in the reconstruction of the past? How do we connect with the present through touch, texture, form, and memory?

What inspired you to pursue a career in fashion design? And how does this medium help you communicate your message?

I turned to fashion design because I have always viewed clothing as a medium that transcends the body, a container for memory, emotion, and time. Fashion is not just a physical entity; it can record the flow of time, the traces left by the body, and the interactions between people and space. Compared to static art forms, fashion's fluidity, tactile qualities, and variability make it the most intimate and direct medium to affect perception, creating a deep emotional connection with the viewer.
My understanding of fashion is not limited to its traditional role as clothing. Instead, I see it as a narrative tool. It can store traces like an archive, remain ambiguous and unfinished like poetry, or shape space like installation art. My creations often explore themes of ephemerality and permanence, reality and fiction, and the transformation and dissolution of memory, and fashion is the best medium for expressing these concepts.
In my work, I use the fragility and strength of materials, the deconstruction and reorganization of structure, the changing interplay of light and shadow, and the dynamic malleability of form to simulate the fluidity and uncontrollability of memory. For example, certain garments will take on different states under varying lighting conditions, some materials change, fade, or deteriorate with time, and certain structures can be freely disassembled and reconstructed—they are not fixed, but instead, they are part of a continuous process of shaping, reading, forgetting, and rediscovery.
It is precisely for these reasons that I choose fashion as my language. It allows me to explore the relationship between the body and space, and it enables me to reflect on how to create lasting experiences from the fleeting, how to make passing moments become meaningful, and how to give new life to forgotten things.

Your journey spans China, Chicago, and now New York. How have these different cultural landscapes shaped your artistic identity and approach to fashion design?

My journey spans China, Chicago, and New York, and these diverse cultural backgrounds have endowed me with a heightened sensitivity to contradictions and coexistence, profoundly shaping my artistic identity and approach to fashion design. Living in these different cultural environments has made me realize that identity is not fixed but constantly reshaped through flow and adaptation. This insight has become a core theme in my work—opposites, change, and fusion.

China: Philosophy of Duality and Balance

Growing up in China, I was deeply influenced by the philosophy of Yin and Yang—black and white, softness and hardness, emptiness and fullness, transience and eternity. These concepts are not separate but rather exist in interdependence and dynamic balance. This philosophy has been deeply ingrained in my creative process, prompting me to explore the coexistence of opposing elements. In my "Yin/Yang" collection, I use extreme material contrasts—soft fabrics paired with rigid structures, transparency with opacity, and organic with synthetic materials. These are not merely opposites but reflect an exploration of how to find harmony in conflict and how to create new possibilities within duality.

Chicago: Experimental and Conceptual Design

My time in Chicago introduced me to more conceptual and experimental approaches to design. The design language here is more avant-garde, emphasizing the narrative and spatial aspects of fashion rather than just its external aesthetics. I began experimenting with breaking the traditional relationship between clothing and the body, considering how fashion could serve as an installation, a vessel for memory, or an unfinished archive. These ideas are reflected in my "Yin/Yang" collection, where the garments are not fixed but change in response to light, environment, and body movement. They are not static objects but a fluid process, much like memory, which cannot be fully captured.

New York: Dynamism and Interdisciplinary Fusion

Arriving in New York, my creative vision expanded even further. The multiculturalism of this city prompted me to think about fashion as an interdisciplinary medium, one that converses with installation art, imagery, sound, poetry, and other forms of artistic expression. The fashion industry in New York is renowned for its fluidity and constant change, which resonates with my own explorations of memory and time. In this context, my creations are no longer simply garments but broader narrative experiments. For example, I began asking: How can fashion change physically like memory? How can a garment alter its form as the wearer's emotions, environment, or time evolve? These explorations are present in "Yin/Yang" as well, where the garment's cut can be disassembled and reassembled, and its transparency shifts under varying light, constantly reminding us that nothing is static—garments, memory, body, and time are all in a state of continual flux.

Finding My Own Language in Cultural Convergence

In navigating these different cultural environments, I have experienced identity migration and self-redefinition, which have become the driving force behind my work. I no longer seek a fixed sense of belonging but rather accept that fluidity itself is a state of being. This philosophy is not only evident in my "Yin/Yang" collection but runs through my entire artistic practice—seeking balance in contradiction, constructing a narrative in change, and creating lasting traces in the transient. These experiences have led me to gradually find my own voice: using fashion to explore the fragility of memory, the limitations of documentation, and the subtle relationship between humans and their environment.

Your work is deeply rooted in the theme of memory and documentation. What first drew you to this concept, and how has it evolved throughout your career?

What initially drew me to the exploration of memory and documentation was the contemplation of how time affects perception and the fragility of memory, as well as the limitations of recording. Memory seems to be our most private, most genuine experience, but it is never static; it is constantly shifting between recall, forgetfulness, and reconstruction. Meanwhile, documentation, which appears to be a fixed capture of the past, is actually constrained by mediums, power, and choice, and it cannot fully preserve the entire truth of a moment. This paradox of time has become a core theme in my creative work.
Over the course of my career, this theme has evolved from materialization to perception.

Initially: Materializing Memory—Finding Traces of Time in Materials
In the early stages of my work, I focused on using material choices, ageing, and layering to simulate the physical form of memory. For instance, I became interested in the sense of time embedded in different fabrics—fragile organza, oxidizing metals, and paper that leaves marks. These materials change and transform with touch and the passage of time, symbolizing how memory is affected by time and how traces remain in its decay. This exploration is manifested in my "Yin/Yang" series, where I use transparency versus opacity, softness versus hardness to represent the fluidity and instability of memory—it can be clear but also ambiguous, and even change dramatically under different lighting or angles, just like our memories of the past, which are never absolute.

Development: The Limitations of Recording—When Archiving Becomes a Subjective Act
As my study of memory deepened, I began to realize that recording is not objective but a construction. Whether it's a personal diary, photographic archives, or societal historical writing, recording inherently involves selection, omission, and distortion. This made me question: when memory is recorded, is it still authentic? When the record is forgotten, does it transform into another kind of memory?
This inquiry was explored experimentally in my work "The Boudoir of Recollection". In this piece, I used documentary photography, poetry, sound, fabric, wood, and shells, interweaving them in ways that made them feel like archives but also like fragments of memory. The images in the piece are hung, folded, and partially concealed, representing memories that cannot be fully preserved. The poetry is exposed directly to the air, subject to the erosion of time, symbolizing the instability of language as a form of documentation. Additionally, a 2:34-minute sound recording of my family waiting for my grandfather's burial captured the sound of wind, birds, and conversations in dialects. It is both a true recording and, due to its fragmentary nature and randomness, it holds an unfinished quality, much like memory.

Now: Experiencing Memory—Letting the Viewer Become a Participant in the Record
As my work has developed, I began to ask: if memory is never static, and recording is not a fixed truth, can the work itselfbecome a "living archive"? Can the viewer actively engage with the piece, allowing memory to "come alive" through their interaction?
This led me to emphasize perception and interaction in my recent works. In fashion design, I want materials to change with the wearer's touch, light, temperature, and time, so the garment doesn't merely passively carry memory but becomespart of the memory itself and even a creator of memory. In installations, I try to make images and sounds activate as the viewer moves, creating a sense of uncertainty—just like memory itself, we cannot ensure it will appear in a fixed way; every recollection will bring a different interpretation.

Ongoing Exploration: Making Fading Become Existence, and Making Recording a Flow
In the digital age, our ability to record is stronger than ever, but true memory has become even more fragile. With the overload of information and infinite reproductions of archives, are we really better at remembering than before? Are we recording memories, or some constructed version of reality? My work seeks balance in this paradox—how to make records not just static archives, but living, warm memory containers? How do we truly experience the past, not just store it, in the space between material and decay?
I have always believed that memory does not belong to the past; it exists in how we perceive the present. If my work can make the viewer realize this in a fleeting moment, or make them recall some detail that was previously unnoticed, then that is the true way it has been "remembered".

You describe memories as fragile, like delicate petals vulnerable to external influences. How do you translate this poetic vision into the materials and techniques you use in your fashion designs?

I believe memory's fragility is not just a psychological state, but something that can be physically felt and touched.Memory is like a fragile petal—it withers with time, changes due to external factors, and may even disappear the moment it's touched. In my fashion design, I translate this poetic fragility into tangible forms, making clothing a metaphor for memory.

Material: Simulating the Ephemeral Nature of Memory
I use materials that are fragile, transparent, and mutable to reflect memory's transience:

Soft vs. Hard: Light, delicate fabrics (like chiffon or silk) contrast with sturdier materials (like wool or canvas) to symbolize the soft nature of memory and its compression over time.
Transparent vs. Obscured: Semi-transparent fabrics reveal varying details depending on light, just like memory, which is never fully clear.
Mutable: Fabrics that change over time (like color-shifting or aging materials) embody memory's constant reshaping.

Structure: Layers and Instability
Memory is fragmented and incomplete, so I use asymmetry, deconstruction, and removable elements to create a sense of unfinished or fluid form:

Asymmetry: My designs often feature imbalanced structures, symbolizing the changes time brings to memory.
Deconstructible: Some garments can be reassembled, symbolizing how memories are pieced together and reformed.
Layering: Multiple layers create a blurred effect, mimicking how memories gradually reveal themselves.

Light and Shadow: Memory in Motion
Like memory, the appearance of clothing can shift with light, angles, and environment:

Light Interaction: Using matte fabrics to change color under various light sources, simulating the shifting clarity of memory.

Varying Transparency: Fabrics shift between transparency and opacity, representing memory's visibility and fading.

Dynamic Quality: Memory as a Living Experience
Memory is constantly evolving. I want clothing to change with the wearer, becoming a living record:

Changing Form: Garments that expand or contract with movement mirror how memories evolve over time.
Memory-Linked Material: Some fabrics retain traces of interaction, making the wearer part of the record itself.

Time's Mark: Clothing That Fades or Transforms
I aim for my work to be like memory—changing with time, leaving traces that speak to its passage:

Disappearing Garments: Certain materials slowly fade or dissolve with exposure, just like the inevitable decay of memory.
Color-Changing Materials: Fabrics dyed with natural pigments evolve over time, becoming a "living memory."

A Memory Experience
I aim to create not just garments, but an experience of memory, one that intertwines with time, body, and emotion. My work is about reflecting the fleeting, impermanent nature of memory and allowing the audience to reconnect with it through touch, perception, and experience. My goal is not to answer this question, but to be part of it.

Your garments are often described as intimate and contemplative. Can you walk us through your creative process, from inspiration to finished piece?

My creative process is a gradual exploration, starting from the concepts of emotion, memory, and time and ultimately finding a balance and dialogue between fashion, materials, structure, and emotion. The process can be broken down into several stages, each filled with experimentation and thought.

1. Inspiration & Visual Research: Starting with Emotion
Each collection is inspired by a profound emotion, a fragment of memory, or a specific concept. Rather than drawing inspiration from external objects, I focus on emotion itself, which is subjective and fluid. I want to make this emotion tangible and perceptible through fashion. My research involves images, films, poetry, music, and art, searching for visual elements that resonate with me. This stage is free and open, and the collected images, colour palettes, and emotional atmospheres eventually form an emotional foundation that guides the design.
For example, in my "Yin/Yang" collection, I drew inspiration from Yin and Yang philosophy in the East, the interplay of light and shadow, and the contrast between organic and synthetic, forming the framework for the concept.

2. Material Experimentation: From Visual to Tactile
Materials are at the heart of my designs. They not only carry emotion and visual effects but also resonate with the fragility and fluidity of memory. I choose materials that are fragile, transparent, and mutable to reflect memory's complexity. For example, I use silk, wool, and fine organza—materials that change and evolve with time and the wearer's movement, symbolizing the impermanence and transformation of memory.
I also experiment with materials through dyeing, treatment, and compression to test how they interact with the body, light, and environment, ensuring each fabric carries unique emotional and temporal traces.

3. Design & Draping: Merging Perception and Form
Once the materials are chosen, I begin draping and experimenting with structure to explore the garment's form. This method allows me to directly feel how the fabric moves on the body and how it shapes itself naturally. The design is not just about the outward appearance but also the interaction between the body, time, and space.
In "Yin/Yang", I use asymmetric cuts, layered designs, and deconstructed structures that shift with the wearer's movements, creating garments that are never static, resonating with the wearer's emotions, actions, and memories.

4. Pattern Making & Fitting: Refining Details and Emotions
Once the design is established, I begin pattern making and fitting. I create the first sample garment, testing the fit, structure, and wearability. Based on feedback from the wearer, I make adjustments, refining every detail to ensure the design aligns with both aesthetics and the flow of emotion, memory, and the body. This stage requires multiple fittings and adjustments, deepening my understanding of the design concept with each iteration.

5. Final Production: From Experimentation to Finished Garment
After refining the design, the final garment production phase begins. I continue to focus on every detail—construction, craftsmanship, and cut—ensuring they align with the original vision. The garment is tested under different lighting and environments to ensure it conveys the emotion and narrative I aim for. This phase involves a sensitivity to every detail, ensuring the final piece is not just a visual expression, but also an emotional embodiment.

6. Connecting the Work with Experience
My goal is for each piece to be more than just clothing but a tangible, perceptible experience. I want to create a space where the wearer and the viewer can engage in deep dialogue with the piece. Every finished garment carries traces of memory—whether through touch, wear, or the changing light and shadow—it resonates with an inner emotional response.
Throughout the entire creative process, I am not merely making garments; I am creating a medium that intertwines memory, time, and emotion.

You mention that your work serves as a "boudoir for memories." Can you expand on this idea? How do you envision your pieces as spaces for reflection and connection?

The concept of the "boudoir of memory" stems from my deep reflections on intimacy, contemplation, and emotional space. A boudoir is a space imbued with personal significance; it is inherently private and filled with memories, sensations, and hidden emotions. I want my work to create a similar internal, personal space, where both the wearer and the viewer can develop an intimate connection with their own memories and engage in a dialogue with time, environment, and the body.
In my creations, clothing is not simply an external display; it functions more as a container for memory, encapsulating emotions and experiences. When people wear it, the garment becomes a vessel for memory, transforming into a space that can be touched, perceived, and experienced. Every aspect of the garment—from material, cut, to the play of light and shadow—tells a story of the inner world, leading the wearer or observer into a private, contemplative state.
In "The Boudoir of Recollection", I weave together images, poetry, sound, and materials, creating an immersive environment where the viewer feels as though they are entering a space that is both personal and collective in memory.These materials are not simply displayed; their interaction allows the viewer to find an emotional resonance within them. For example, the photographs are hung and folded, as if forgotten memories are gradually reappearing, while the poetry is exposed, bearing the weight of memory and inviting introspection. As the viewer enters this "boudoir," they are not just observing a piece of work but stepping into a space deeply connected to their own emotions, allowing their memories to converse with my creation.
Additionally, the use of sound plays a crucial role in this "boudoir" concept. Through the 2:34-minute sound recording, I transformed a moment's audio into an emotional vessel. The sound shifts—from birdcalls to conversations among relatives—inviting the viewer not only to visually observe but to actively engage through sound, triggering their reflection on the passage of time and the reconstruction of memory.
Overall, I want my work to serve as a space for reflection and connection, where the wearer or observer is not just putting on or viewing an external object but is interacting deeply with their own memories, emotions, and experiences. Through this interaction, the piece becomes not only a guardian of memory but also an emotional trigger, playing out a personal story in the flow of time alongside the wearer.

Your designs create an emotional response in the viewer. Have there been any particularly memorable reactions to your work that reaffirmed your vision?

In my creative process, the most profound reactions have been the emotional resonance my works evoke in viewers, especially as they interact with the pieces, triggering deeply buried memories or emotions. On one occasion, a viewer stood before "The Boudoir of Recollection", quietly gazing at an abandoned photograph in the piece. She suddenly said, "This reminds me of a loved one I lost." Her eyes reflected a fuzzy, warm, and sorrowful emotion, as if she had found a personal fragment within the work.
This reaction deeply reinforced for me that my work is not just a visual or conceptual expression; it has the ability to stir deep emotional memories in viewers, allowing them to engage in a profound dialogue with the piece. Particularly when the viewer's memories resonate with the artwork, I realize that my creations are not just about showcasing aesthetics or emotion, but about creating a space where the viewer can touch their own memories and experiences.
On another occasion, a viewer, after interacting with my garment, told me that they felt an unsaid emotional shift, as if the piece was not merely an extension of the body but a medium between the body and memory. They mentioned, "This garment makes me feel a forgotten warmth, as if I once had such a tactile memory." This reaction reaffirmed my creative direction: I want the viewer to experience through my designs not just beauty, but the flow of memory, the traces of time, and the depth of emotion.
These reactions have convinced me even further that my designs are not simply meant for outward visual effects, but for leaving a touching impression deep in the viewer's soul, allowing them to find a connection with their inner selves through wearing, observing, and perceiving. I firmly believe that the meaning of fashion goes far beyond its external appearance—it is an expression of our inner world, a part of our emotions and memories.

What themes or techniques are you excited to explore in your future collections? How do you see your practice evolving?

I will continue to use strong contrasts in materials and structure, such as the juxtaposition of soft and hard textures and minimalist and complex forms, to explore the relationship between tradition and modernity, nature and artifice. My designs will combine minimalist elements with vintage, intricate decorations, embedding emotions and memories to showcase the flow of time and cultural changes.
In my future creations, I aim to incorporate multimedia art, such as integrating images, sound, and dynamic structures into fashion design to create a more immersive sensory experience. I'm also intrigued by the fusion of modern technology and traditional craftsmanship, and I plan to innovate further in material selection, exploring how to maintain the emotional tension while ensuring the garments have a modern and experimental feel.

And lastly, what are you working on now? Do you have any new collection or collaboration you want to share with our readers?

In my future collections, I'm most excited to explore the dialogue between the retro and the future. I'm deeply fascinated by the unique aesthetic of China during the 1980s and 1990s, which carries an alive and playful quality filled with rebellion and individuality. These elements strongly attract me, and I hope to express this unique tension in fashion, reflecting the era's response to the external world.
Currently, I'm working on a collection inspired by the 1980-1990s Chinese aesthetic, revisiting and reconstructing the style of that era. Through bold colours, exaggerated cuts, and daring patterns, I aim to capture the distinctive style of the period and merge it with modern design. This is not only a reflection on past culture but also a personal expression of my aesthetic, allowing me to find my connection to history and culture.

Artist’s Talk

Al-Tiba9 Interviews is a promotional platform for artists to articulate their vision and engage them with our diverse readership through a published art dialogue. The artists are interviewed by Mohamed Benhadj, the founder & curator of Al-Tiba9, to highlight their artistic careers and introduce them to the international contemporary art scene across our vast network of museums, galleries, art professionals, art dealers, collectors, and art lovers across the globe.

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