Ethnic Chinese Yi embroidery, one of China's intangible cultural heritages, amazed the audience on Saturday at Milan Fashion Week in Italy, displaying the charm of an oriental handicraft dating back thousands of years.

This intangible cultural heritage from Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province in southwest China stands for a history of over 1,700 years. In Chuxiong, some 56,000 embroidery artisans are carrying forward the tradition, and the number is growing.

The fashion show staged 40 sets of urban fashion clothing decorated with Yi embroidery elements, featuring strong and bright colors and expressive patterns echoing to present a visual feast that blends time-honored craftsmanship with fashion art.

The women's clothing series released on Saturday boldly used the black color, which dominates the ethnic Yi culture, with pattern designs of clouds, seeds, horse cherry blossoms, silver ornaments, while incorporating luxurious fabrics of Italian niche crafts, creating a unique ethnic style and elegant oriental charm.

"We applied the existent Yi embroidery works to some fashionable elements, and came out with an Yi embroidery art with brilliant expression in some modern daily necessities and outfits. Our products are quite practical and exquisite," said Jin Ruirui, president of Jielu Yi Embroidery Culture Communication Co., Ltd. in Chuxiong.

The Chuxiong delegation to the Milan fashion week also released colorful hand-made Yi embroidery bags co-branded with Italian fashion producer Coccinelle. The bags made extensive use of Yi embroidery pieces produced in Yunnan featuring rich colors and original totems.

"[These works] have well demonstrated the richness of Chinese culture. At the same time, others can better understand the traditions of Yunnan through such brand collaborations," said Emanuele Mazziotta, chief operating officer of Coccinelle.

There are 56 Yi embroidery associations and cooperatives plus 538 embroidery workshops in Chuxiong, and the added value of the Yi embroidery industry also increased from 21 million yuan (about 2.88 million U.S. dollars) in 2012 to 245 million yuan in 2022, according to information office officials of the People's Government of Yunnan Province.