A shawl made in Guangzhou, shipped across the Pacific and embraced by European society, may sound like an unusual chapter in the history of fashion. But more than a century ago, this was part of a thriving international trade network connecting southern China with the wider world.
That story is now being revisited at Guangzhou Museum, where the exhibition "Glamours on Shoulders: Chinese Cloud Collars and Manila Shawls" runs through December 13. The exhibition brings together traditional Chinese cloud collars (Yunjian), Cantonese-embroidered Manila shawls and late Qing dynasty design drafts, offering a glimpse into how Chinese craftsmanship and aesthetics traveled far beyond China.
Why "Manila" if they were made in Guangzhou?
The name itself tells a story about global trade. The shawls were made in Guangzhou, using the fine embroidery techniques of the region, but many reached overseas markets through Manila, then a key hub in the Spanish trans-Pacific trade. From there, they continued their journey to Europe and the Americas.
In other words, "Manila shawl" describes the route by which these Chinese textiles entered international markets — not their place of origin.
Guangzhou was at the heart of this story
As a major port and trading center, Guangzhou connected China's silk and handicraft industries with overseas demand. Local embroiderers were not simply producing traditional Chinese designs for domestic customers; they were also responding to tastes from distant markets.
The result was a cultural hybrid: Chinese craftsmanship made in Guangzhou, shaped partly by overseas demand and then worn and interpreted in other parts of the world.
From Guangzhou workshops to European fashion
The shawls changed as they traveled. Early examples tended to have more open compositions, while later pieces featured increasingly dense floral patterns. Fringe lengths also varied, with some extending to around 40 centimeters.
Once they arrived in Europe, the shawls became part of everyday fashion and social life. They appeared at Spanish weddings, became closely associated with flamenco and were even used as decorative pieces in European interiors.
The journey did not end there. Designers in the 20th century and beyond continued to draw on their embroidery, floral motifs and flowing fringes, incorporating elements of the traditional shawls into modern fashion.
The exhibition even includes a portrait print of Alice Lee Roosevelt Longworth, the eldest daughter of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, alongside a shawl similar to the one depicted in the portrait.
The global journey of Chinese aesthetics
Perhaps the most interesting part of the story is not simply where the shawls traveled, but what traveled with them.
Flowers, birds, auspicious animals and intricate embroidery techniques carried elements of Chinese visual culture into new environments. At the same time, Guangzhou's embroiderers adapted their designs to overseas tastes, incorporating decorative elements that appealed to European consumers.
The late Qing design drafts on display make this process especially visible. Some combine traditional Chinese motifs with European Baroque and Rococo-inspired patterns, showing that international trade was not just an exchange of goods. It was also an exchange of ideas and aesthetics.
The Manila shawl therefore tells a bigger story about Guangzhou's place in the world. Long before today's global fashion industry, textiles made in the city already crossed oceans, entering foreign wardrobes and becoming part of other cultures.
And perhaps that is why the exhibition places the Manila shawl alongside the traditional cloud collar. One developed primarily within Chinese society; the other was shaped by China's encounter with the world. Together, they show how Chinese aesthetics could travel — while changing, adapting and finding new life along the way.
Reporter | Li Fangwang
Poster | Guangzhou Museum
Photos | Li Fangwang
