Smooth as Silk

THE MOVIE: “Raise the Red Lantern.”

THE SETUP: Songlian (Gong Li), a modern-thinking college student in northern China of the 1920s, marries an old and powerful man, becoming his fourth wife. She is soon ensnared in the wives’ power struggles.

THE LOOK: Upper-crust Ch’ing Dynasty. The film recreates traditional clothing that first appeared in the late 1800s. It still prevailed in the 1920s. Since the film unravels by seasons, viewers see a full assortment of women’s fashion, from winter coats to cool summer dresses.

For wealthy Chinese women such as Songlian and the other wives, shimmering Chinese silks, often embellished with fine floral embroidery, dominated. The hallmark is the high mandarin collar and frog-button closures on men’s and women’s garments. The mandarin collar appears on all sorts of garments, from the most traditional chipao dress--fitted through the waist and slit up the sides--favored by the elderly first wife, Yuru (Jin Shuyuan), to the tunics worn over ankle-length pants and over long, straight skirts. Fur-lined winter coats and vests also feature the stand-up collar.

Second wife Zhouyun (Cao Cuifeng) is the most fashion conscious; her chipao dresses are made from the most unusual patterned silks with ribbon trims. Third wife Meishan (He Caifei), a former opera actress, is the most theatrical, leaning toward bright green, purple and red embroidered jackets. Songlian, the young and beautiful fourth wife, wears the purest designs: tunics and dresses in white, ice blue and red.

THE SOURCES: The costumes were designed by Huang Lihua, based in Xian, China. Lihua also created the clothes for director Zhang Yimou’s previous films, “Ju Dou” and “Red Sorghum.” She purchased the silks in Nanjing and Suchow, famous for silk production; the cottons for servant clothes were found in more provincial regions. The designer hired elderly tailors and embroiderers familiar with traditional fashion to make the clothes.

THE PAYOFF: These are remarkable styles rarely seen in movies. Their striking beauty and strong colors serve as important high notes in a carefully controlled vision.