Flowers, facial expressions, feathers－you name it, whatever you want can be the theme of a hat, or specifically, unique headwear under the magic of Sui Yida's hands.

Sui, 34, a millinery designer, celebrates the vitality of life with his creativity and a hint of "romanticism at the last phase before the end of the world".

"Life should be exuberant, not stagnant," exclaims Sui, as he flamboyantly sets out his principle of design.

In April, Sui launched his 2020 spring and summer collection, including more than 20 hats designed to commemorate mankind's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new collection is inspired by epic science-fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey released in 1968. Sui thinks the hat shapes of the 1960s were inspired by the space race and the then "looming, but unknown" 21st century.

"Today we are like people in the 1960s who, like them, look forward to, but also worry about, the future," he says.

"Maybe the contradiction of both curiosity and worry can push humankind to develop with steady steps."

Sui started to learn traditional Chinese painting at 5, and after 10 years of practicing, he learned more about Western sketching.

He has double-major bachelor's degrees from the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, in fashion design and engineering, and accessory art and design.

During college, Sui also took courses in many other majors, such as environmental art and graphic design.

"As an auditor of other courses, usually I would initially sit in the back row, but gradually, when the professor became more familiar with me, I'd move to the front row to listen," Sui recalls, adding that during his college time, there was no rest day－he took courses from Monday to Sunday.

He is the first student at his college to prepare a collection of millinery as his graduation project.

"My tutor told me designing a millinery collection was either pass or fail, which put a lot of pressure on me," Sui says. "I'm glad that all the professors involved liked my final project－a collection of six pieces of headwear."

The collection later was borrowed by fashion magazine Bazaar for a photo shoot.

Sui started millinery design in 2009 after graduation, but only as a hobby. He had been working as a designer of clothes, bags and costumes for several years.

It was not until 2016, when Sui built his team and founded his own brand, Suiyida, did he focus only on millinery.

"I like headwear, as it can be an art form that records my feelings. Compared to garments, headwear can fulfill all my bizarre ideas with only one pivotal point," Sui says.

For Sui, making headwear is like writing a diary. "I'll use different materials to interpret my mood and the things I encounter, so each piece of headwear I make is like a phase of my life story."

Unlike many designers that are inspired by images, Sui is more touched by words, which will lead to an image in his head from which he abstracts the materials and craft to make it into a piece of headwear.

All the hats from his brand are made by his own crafting team and workshop, after he found out that few factories could make the hats he designed.

"Sui is a person who focuses on details－his standard for making a hat is much higher than the ordinary standard," co-founder of Suiyida brand Shen Yangdu says. "For him, his millinery design is his hobby."

Shen, 30, director of operations of the brand, says their team has grown from three people to 10 since the brand was founded four years ago. "At first we had a small studio. After three relocations, we now have a larger open space for designing and making the hats," he says.

"China actually has a long history of wearing hats. For instance, in ancient times, the headwear an emperor wore was a symbol of power," Shen says.

"We want to bring the hat culture back to modern times."

Finishing touches

Each year, Sui designs two new collections for the spring-summer and autumn-winter seasons. He also creates two mini-capsule collections in between.

For the past decade, he has been designing millinery for fashion magazines such as Vogue, Bazaar, Elle, and Marie Claire. Dozens of celebrities, including actresses Zhou Xun, Zhao Wei and Zhang Xinyi have worn his headwear.

Actress Zhang Tianai, wearing Sui's feather headwear on this year's Spring Festival gala, wowed the audience with a "fairy" look. Sui took two months to finish that piece.

Some of his hats have been collected by Nanjing University of the Arts in Nanjing, Jiangsu province.

One of Sui's signature works is the headwear for renowned Chinese dancer Yang Liping for her dance drama Peacock of Winter.

Sui and his team spent 15 days in Kunming, Yunnan province, observing Yang and her team perform rehearsals for the dance show.

"Yang told me of the concept of the dance drama, which touched me deeply," Sui recalls. "She said her age is in winter for human beings and her dance moves may not be as flexible as when she was younger, but she is still active on the stage, showing people that even though her body is in winter, her soul and her faith for the stage is still there."

Sui designed a white headpiece for Yang, with feathers and snow patterns symmetrically placed on both sides. "Her spirit for the show made me want to hug her, so that I designed the headwear that looked like the fully-fanned-out tail of a white peacock to wrap up her head, which represents a kind of protective affection," he explains.

This headwear later accompanied Yang on tour, as she performed the dance drama in numerous cities.

"There are few millinery designers in China, especially for customized headwear. Luckily the market is comprehensive enough in which such a niche field of millinery can survive," Sui says.

Sui is also a part-time lecturer at the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology. "Millinery is still a niche field in design, which is unpopular among students," Sui says. "When I teach millinery design, I can tell the students are more interested in clothes and accessories. They prefer bags and shoes."

Qiu Qingying, 28, a select shop owner in Shanghai, has been matching clothes and accessories for eight years. She now has three stores, in Melbourne, Shanghai, and Foshan, Guangdong province.

Until she was introduced to Sui three years ago, she didn't consider hats as a necessary step for costume matching.

Qiu still remembers when she first met Sui and visited his office. "It was a small studio, but I was so shocked when I saw his daring designs, especially one collection of the headgear that fused people's facial silhouettes into the design," she says.

Qiu will select some hats each time Sui launches a new selection. She did it without exception for Sui's 2020 spring and summer collection.

"Sui can make his designs display different styles, while still following the same theme in one collection," Qiu says. "His previous works are more for haute couture, but now they are more suitable for daily life."

Qiu thinks hats are becoming popular for women to show a sense of fashion.

"A broad-brimmed hat has become an indispensable item for women when going to the beach for vacation," Qiu says.

"Even when you wear ordinary clothes with no makeup, a delicate designer hat will make a great finishing touch."