Renagul (2nd R) discusses embroidery techniques with Aygul Iskender (1st R) at her workshop in Yizhou District of Hami City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on March 8, 2019. The haute couture, literally named "blossoming flower", decorated with handmade embroidery with distinctive local flavor, was presented at the Paris Fashion Week in 2016. This changed embroiderer Renagul's life, who never thought her works would be displaed at a world-renowned fashion show. Renagul grew up in an embroidery family in Hami. Influenced by her mother, she has been fond of embroidery since childhood. Supported by local government, she opened an embroidery cooperative in 2014. In 2016, Qin Xu, founder and chief designer of Shanghai fashion brand Moodbox, came to Hami for inspiration. Obsessed and inspired by Renagul and her mother's exquisite embroidery, Qin Xu designed a series of fashions with Hami embroidery. Once the elegant "blossoming flower" was stunningly unveiled during the Paris Fashion Week, it immediately fascinated the audience. Now, Renagul has achieved growing orders and rising incomes. She also started to learn English, hoping her work would gain popularity abroad. She said, "I enjoy my work. Every time I pick up the needle, I feel calm and happy. In the future, I would like to incorporate more modern elements into traditional embroidery to make Hami embroidery more popular". (Xinhua/Wang Fei)
