Memoirs of a Geisha - Colour Symbolism

Colour symbolism was something I hadn't really thought of before being set this project. I tend to watch films and take in the storyline without taking note of the surrounding colours. After reading Patti Belantoni's If It's Purple, Someone's Guna Die it started to make more sense as to why particular colours are chosen and what they subconsciously do to our emotions.

I chose to concentrate on Memoirs of a Geisha as it is one of my favorites and I find it easy to watch. 

We first see Chiyo as a child getting taking away from her family, she wears dull coloured clothing to match the dull grey colours of the scenery which immediately draws me in to the story. 

Chiyo is sent to a house to serve a powerful Geisha called Hatsumomo , the first time we see this character she is wearing red which is said to be a symbol of power and fear and Chiyo stays in more dull colours representing that she is the slave.

I looked at Chiyo and Hatsumomos relationship mostly as it was interesting to see the colour changes as Chiyo becomes a young woman and a popular geisha and Hatsumomo is pushed to the sidelines. She's very jealous of how beautiful she is and how much attention she gets from other men. The image below is after she has been made over in full Geisha makeup and clothing, as you can see colour is starting to be introduced into her characters wardrobe and also some bold patterns. The splashes of red show that she has now become the powerful one.

Below is an example of Hatsumomo wearing a dark colour as opposed to her bright reds and whites at the start of the movie. Her hair is also put into a messier, careless style unlike her usual neat up do's. The two women have more or less completely switched round, Chiyo has taken on Hatsumomos powerful, strong colour palette aswel as the intricate hairstyles and bold lips showing she is now the new Geisha.  

Guest Lecture - Victor Tong & Pacino Wan 8th May

On Thursday the 8^th May I attended a lecture in the Sir James Matthews building of Southampton Solent University. The guest speakers that presented their lecture were Victor Tong and Pacino Wan. Victor Tong presented his lecture first which was ‘Chinese Opera Mask Art and Chinese Tradition’. Victor talked about the meaning of the colours and patterns used in Chinese masks. Pacino Wan discussed the history of his fashion line and how he started as a designer.

Victor Tong's lecture was well put together, he had a lot of knowledge on the subject and was confident with what he was saying. The masks are very stunning visually and are unlike anything I have seen before. I had no idea they had so much meaning behind them so it was really interesting to find out that certain characters in Chinese Opera would have different colours and patterns on their masks and what they mean. He wrapped up the lecture by showing us current advertising campaigns that have taken inspiration from the traditional Chinese Opera Masks. 

Pacino Wan told us about how he started from the bottom of the fashion industry and worked hard to eventually have his own fashion line. He also showed us a video of his line in action on the runway which was quite different to the fashion shows you see here in the UK. There was no raised catwalk it was on the floor which was actually nice to see the models being able to connect more with the audience as they were on the same level. The designs were very patterned and colourful, very different to our type of fashion. 

Overall it was a really interesting lecture and i learned a lot from it that I'm sure I can take inspiration from in the future.