Taiwan's first-generation fashion designer Pun Dai-lee (潘黛麗) passed away on April 30 at the age of 72. At the Taipei Fashion Week SS23 on Oct. 14, Vice Minister of Culture Lee Lien-chuan (李連權) presented a posthumous certificate of appreciation to Pun on behalf of the Ministry of Culture, in recognition of her significant contribution to Taiwan's fashion industry.
Born in 1950, Pun studied fashion design at the Private Tainan Junior College of Home Economics (now Tainan University of Technology). In 1978, she founded her personal brand “Pun Dai Lee” and established the Dumu Enterprise Co., LTD. the following year. In the early 1990s, she led a team of Taiwanese designers to Paris for an event that showcased the charm of Taipei, marking an important milestone in the history of fashion design. After being elected to chair the Textile Fashion Design Association in 2001, she led emerging talents to participate in several domestic and international exhibitions and performances, sparing no effort in supporting junior designers.
Pun cultivated a taste of art that is full of classical tradition and Chinese culture since she was little by watching traditional dramas with her grandmother. Her design collections were inspired by ancient Chinese palace costumes and headdresses worn by actors and actresses.
In his speech, Vice Minister of Culture Lee stated that Pun had been working in the fashion industry for more than 40 years. As a representative fashion designer in Taiwan, she devoted herself to creation and innovation as well as took the initiative to help Taiwan's design aesthetics education set down deep roots. Lee also stressed that MOC will collaborate with the Ministry of Economic Affairs to fulfill Pun's final wish, which is to integrate the upstream, midstream and downstream of Taiwan's fashion industry.
During the Taipei Fashion Week SS23, 19 of Pun's classic works will be displayed at the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, in hopes of inspiring cutting-edge fashion designers through her exquisite design craftsmanship.