Blue Lenz Awards: Inside Vivian Wang’s Indigo Village Visit
This year, the TENCEL™ Denim Team held our first Blue Lenz Denim Video Awards during Bluezone, celebrating the best of the best from our Blue Lenz YouTube channel.
One of the winners, Kingpins Show managing director Vivian Wang, took home the Best Art Direction award for her film “An Indigo Story.” The short captures the traditional natural indigo dyeing practices in a remote town in China.
Vivian spoke with Carved in Blue about the making of her film and her time in Feng Deng village.
Carved in Blue: What was the concept or inspiration behind your winning film?
Vivian: I learned about the indigo village when I purchased an indigo-dyed woven jacket at one of our China shows. The owner of the brand as well as the designer told me all of his work was done in an indigo village, which inspired me to visit the village in 2018.
It took me a full day to travel from airplane to train to car and then walk to reach this hidden village. What I saw there blew my mind.
The artisans keep everything authentic and original. The weaving methods are passed down from generation to generation. Dyes come from nature, and everything is done by hand. I thought to myself, this is true sustainability and I need to share the story about the indigo village with others.
Carved in Blue: Why did you feel it was important to explore this topic?
Vivian: The world is changing fast; everyone wants everything better, faster, bigger. But lost in all that speed and scale is the basic idea of how life should be and what the earth has given us. There is beauty in doing things using the old ways from the past but with an eye on the present.
Carved in Blue: How did this content come together?
Vivian: The moment I arrived in the village, the story had already formed in my mind. I created the storyboard for the video detailing everything I saw, along with the script and how I wanted to present this story. When I discussed it with the film team, it took us less than one week to finalize the story. We filmed for three days and had the video ready for the next China show.
I am very grateful to the people in the village who opened their hearts to all of us, generously sharing their stories and their homes with us.
Carved in Blue: What was the most challenging part of creating this video?
Vivian: The story came together easily, but shooting in a rural location for three days proved to be a challenge. I must have been bitten by hundreds—or maybe thousands—of mosquitos.
Carved in Blue: Why is video such a powerful medium for denim storytelling?
Vivian: Through video, we are able to bring viewers along with us and share this story through the lens of our eyes.
The story of the indigo village and the artisans is so real, but also so different from how most of us experience the denim industry. We were able to bring viewers along to this remote location. It’s almost as if they were walking through the place with us, but without the mosquitos!