What can a dress reveal about a changing world? Fashioning Chinese Women: Empire to Modernity traces a century of transformation through the garments worn by Chinese and Chinese-American women, from the final years of the Qing dynasty to the dawn of the modern era. Featuring more than 70 extraordinary examples of dress—including richly embroidered court robes, silk jackets and skirts, and elegant qipaos—the exhibition explores how fashion reflected shifting ideas about identity, femininity, and cultural exchange during a period of profound social and political change. As the I Ching (Book of Changes) observes, “When things reach an extreme, they change; through change they find a way forward; through adaptation they endure.” —Carolina de Armas