Ronghua: The Chinese Craft of Silk Flowers
A flower begins with silk.
Fine fibres are gathered, twisted around slender wire, trimmed and shaped by hand. Petals and leaves gradually emerge from these small sections before being assembled into a complete flower. The process is precise, and the finished form remains remarkably light.
This is Ronghua (绒花), a traditional Chinese craft made with silk fibres.
What Is Ronghua?
Ronghua, literally referring to silk or velvet flowers, is a traditional Chinese decorative craft in which fine silk fibres are formed into botanical shapes. The fibres are worked around fine metal wire, then trimmed, shaped and assembled by hand.
The craft has a long history in China. Its development is associated with the Tang and Song periods, while by the Ming and Qing dynasties, Ronghua had become part of ceremonial dress, bridal ornaments, theatrical costumes and court accessories. Nanjing became one of its important centres of production.
The materials are simple: silk, wire, thread and colour. The making is not.
How Ronghua Is Made
The process begins with preparing and dyeing the silk fibres. They are arranged into fine, even bundles before being twisted around metal wire. The resulting sections are trimmed and shaped into individual petals and leaves.
These components are then assembled one by one.
The shape of a flower depends on the density of the fibres, the tension of the wire and the position of each individual element. Small variations can remain visible in the finished piece.
This is part of what makes Ronghua distinct from a moulded decorative flower. Its three-dimensional form is constructed through many separate stages of handwork.
Looking Closely
A Ronghua flower can appear simple when viewed from a distance.
Up close, the construction becomes easier to see: the direction of the silk fibres, the fine wire beneath them, the edges of individual petals and the points where separate components meet.
The flower is built through these small decisions.
Silk becomes structure.
Structure becomes form.
And form becomes something that can be worn.
Ronghua in Contemporary Culture
In recent years, Ronghua has appeared in places far beyond traditional dress.
Chinese creator Li Ziqi featured the craft in a 2024 video in which she made a silk Ronghua flower set against Shu brocade. Her video followed the material from silkworms and silk production through to the finished flower, bringing the making process into a format watched by a large international audience. In her own post, she described making the flower as part of a wish for her viewers.
Fashion has also provided another setting for the craft. For Dior Men's Summer 2024, milliner Stephen Jones incorporated Chinese Ronghua flowers into New Wave-inspired beanies. Dior states that Ronghua artisans worked with the Dior Ateliers to adapt the colours for the collection. The flowers were presented alongside couture knitwear and contemporary menswear.
Dior Summer 2024 Men's Show
These examples place Ronghua in two very different settings: a craft-making video rooted in the process itself, and an international fashion collection where the technique became part of a contemporary design vocabulary.
The material remained the same.
The setting changed.
Ronghua as Wearable Craft
At Patinae, Ronghua is presented through contemporary jewellery.
Our Ronghua collection includes earrings and brooches inspired by botanical forms, including bamboo leaves, bougainvillea and other flowers. The pieces use silk fibres combined with lightweight metal structures, allowing the traditional technique to be worn in everyday settings.
The scale of jewellery brings attention to details that can easily disappear in larger decorative works.
A single petal becomes part of the composition.
The edge of a leaf remains visible.
The silk catches light as the wearer moves.
The object changes slightly with movement, while the underlying construction remains fixed.
This relationship between textile technique and the body is one of the qualities that makes Ronghua particularly suited to contemporary jewellery.
