SB Brand Feature: Ziran & the Heritage of Xiang Yun Sha Silk
“Nature doesn’t hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” This Daoist quote was the last note that Kelly Wang Shanahan, the founder and creative director behind Ziran—a luxury clothing brand made entirely of xiang yun sha silk—left us with, following a reflective conversation.
Nature doesn’t hurry, yet everything is accomplished. I sat with these words after our interview had ended and I was left to contemplate ziran, a Daoist term that, in Chinese, means “of its own,” “by nature,” or “naturally.” Working in the sustainability and climate action spaces, we’re often working under pressure to solve the problems of the planet before it’s too late. Our Millennial and Gen Z culture of hustlers and girlbosses galore sets a ceaseless expectation of accomplishments to reflect our busyness. In the world of fashion, especially fast fashion, the demand to constantly produce garments in large quantities has seeped into nearly every part of the industry. No matter how noble (or not) one’s purpose seems to be, the illusion of urgency persists.
So what happens when we slow down? When we choose to be patient? To allow what happens next to happen without our interference? Can the result be something better, more luxurious, and more genuine than ever before? For Kelly and Ziran, the answer is possibly, yes. As a business professional, an artist, and an entrepreneur, Kelly’s work with Ziran requires that she confront the hurried nature of these capitalistic industries in order to work in harmony with the meditative, Daoist nature of silk production. The practice of creating xiang yun sha silk encourages us to re-align with our ancient practices that rely on nature in order to reconnect with the luxury that is already around us and encourage a more sustainable way of creating art.
Growing up with a Daoist philosopher for a mother, Kelly was raised with an understanding that nature is supreme, and practicing values of wu wei, or “acting by non-action.” As a result, the concepts of Daoism became central to her own identity and to the development of her silk design brand, Ziran. Ziran is an apt word to describe the production process of xiang yun sha silk, a type of fabric that, in 2023, is still developed through meticulous and ritualistic intergenerational practices in the Pearl River Delta region of China. The silk is entirely reliant on the environment where it is made and cannot be replicated. It’s carefully made using the same structure and process that it has for generations. Deferential to nature, the silk stands on its own.
The authenticity behind the brand reflects Kelly’s nature. Entering our meeting from her current home in New Mexico (where she is living with family as her partner finishes an artist-in-residence program), I could tell upon first impression that Kelly is a true individual. As a Gemini, an artist, and an entrepreneur, Kelly is someone who shows up as she is, uninterested in making excuses or explanations for being herself. Like the silk, Kelly is of her own.
Kelly was first introduced to xiang yun sha silk when she was in college. While pursuing a degree in Chinese studies, Kelly was moved by the legacy of the silk and how it seemed to confront Sinophobic stereotypes of China being known for knock-off products and cheap mass production. “Finding this really incredibly artisanal amazing textile that totally refuted what everybody thinks of Chinese products really made me proud.” Here was a tenderly made product representing centuries of textile and agricultural heritage. Being of Chinese descent herself, she connected with xiang yun sha silk as a celebration of her culture and identity.
Kelly’s discovery of the silk and fascination with the practice illuminated her new path; she dropped ideas of law school to pursue a career in fashion. She completed an MBA at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles. Her strong entrepreneurial nature delivered her to a career in luxury fashion, but the garment industry was sharply demystified. Kelly encountered many disappointing practices that were unsustainable and entirely inauthentic. She worked with designers who “would take Zara coats and then cut the labels off and put their own label, put some crystals and sell them for like $10,000.” She couldn’t stay there. The reality that “this brand is making hundreds of thousands of millions of dollars a year on this totally unethical lie really pushed me even deeper into wanting to try to be sustainable, go a different way.” Kelly moved on from the luxury fashion world by returning to her familiar, deeply personal connection to style: xiang yun sha silk. In 2016, Kelly launched Ziran, the only brand outside of China to sell this luxurious silk.
The textile itself has been made in one village in the southern part of China for the last 500 years. Most of the process is nature-based, barring the brief use of very low-energy machinery to weave the textile. Only during the summer months, when the sun is highest in the sky, can this silk be made. Its unique color and texture are reliant on the heat of the sun, the mud of the Pearl River, and the natural dye of the yam that is grown in this region. It requires no additional tannins, mortars, or other chemically produced materials; everything needed to make this silk is within immediate proximity.
Because of the natural process, every single silk that Ziran uses is the only one of its kind. You might receive different colors depending on the effect of the mud, the pigment of the yam, and the sun’s potency. The process of dyeing the material is laborious, and perfected by those who have been making this silk for generations. The practice requires hours outside in the hot summer sun, carrying heavy yards of silk, covering and brushing the fabric with layers of dye and mud. The amount of labor that goes into producing xiang yun sha is not forgotten by Kelly. “It's young people who don't want to do that anymore. The same thing is in the fashion industry, nobody wants to be a sewer anymore. Everyone wants to be a designer. The struggle will be finding people who want to do this like ‘hard labor’.” The labor is part of what makes the silk fabric so exceptionally authentic and important. There are almost no ways to cut corners.
What’s more intriguing is that the weave patterns of xiang yun sha silk incorporate motifs stemming from Daoist philosophy, including, among other values, universal harmony. The painstakingness of literally weaving meaning into this textile marks its makers’ symbiosis with nature’s rhythms. The result is a fabric that moves with its wearer. One of our very own resident sustainable baddies, Dolly, (pictured below wearing her favorite limited-run Ziran set in a mossy hue) shared her love for how xiang yun sha silk makes her feel. “Silks often feel fragile and restrictive…you’re always thinking, don’t sweat, don’t jump around, don’t snag the fabric.” She effuses, “Ziran’s silks are so much stronger and so much more breathable than any other silk I’ve worn. I feel like I can do whatever I want.”
The silk itself is what keeps Kelly’s brand completely sustainable. From its creation process to the fact that it is impossible to mass produce due to the nature of the material, Kelly is simply unable to sacrifice sustainability for profit— and why would she? Kelly sees the nature of the silk as one of its most important qualities and as core to her brand identity. It is a reminder that when we allow nature to do as it does, what results is art worth protecting. She shared in our conversation that what concerns her with the production of the silk is that over time, the practice will become so difficult that it will be relinquished in favor of modern garment-making methods, and there will not be enough people willing to invest in its difficult nature to continue the practice. Currently, Ziran is the only brand in North America that uses this fabric in its designs because it is difficult to source, comes in small batches, and requires patience. Despite her entrepreneurial nature and her hard work in the business world, growing Ziran to a place where it no longer embodies the Daoist values under which it started is not of interest to her. Instead, she is looking at ways to incorporate materials like organic cotton and wool, with hopes of one day having her own farm or a share in a farm that creates xiang yun sha silk and other sustainable textiles.
The words of Laozi that Kelly has used to describe the brand are, “Man follows the ways of Earth, Earth follows Heaven, Heaven follows the Dao, Dao follows its own ways—ziran." The brand, Ziran, is dependent on the planet, and in turn, so is Kelly. Submitting to the ways of ziran is a way to maintain a commitment to sustainability, avoid excessive scale, and protect a practice that is meaningful to Kelly’s own identity. When we opt for the slower, the more meticulous, and the ancient, we are opting for the more sustainable in the end. And Ziran is a reminder that choosing the more sustainable path can also mean opting for the luxurious, the rare, the unique, and the authentic all at the same time.
