Edward Xiong, designer of the 2025 Wisconsin Idea Seminar journey book cover, and three other UW-Madison undergraduates studying textiles and fashion design in the School of Human Ecology traveled to Vietnam for six weeks over the summer for the inaugural 2025 Hmong Design Studies Internship led by Design Studies Professor Jennifer Angus. Students collaborated with three Hmong communities: Pa Co Commune in Mai Chau District, known for its traditional indigo dyeing techniques; Pa Xac Village in Huoi Tu Commune, known for reverse appliqué, embroidery and customs; and Lung Tam Commune in Quan Ba District, specializing in hemp weaving and batik, appliquéd embroidery, and final finishing sewing skills. The students created a textile collection for each of the Hmong communities they learned from. Reflecting on his experience, Edward shared, “Here in America, we’re removed from a lot of these knowledges because we don’t have the materials, or the time to learn, and it saddens me. Having the opportunity to continue those knowledges of weaving hemp and turning it into cloth, and learning about the different natural dyes such as indigo, was really amazing.”
Learn more about the story from the Division of the Art’s post, “Connected by Common Threads”: https://artsdivision.wisc.edu/2025/08/29/connected-by-common-threads
Read the full article at: https://artsdivision.wisc.edu/2025/08/29/connected-by-common-threads