Why does Meng Ziyi (孟子义) look so peculiar in her new drama’s bridal scene? The heavy red-gold crown crawling with bead strands, a net of pearls draping across her forehead, and two long red ribbons trailing down to her waist – it’s a jarring sight. In an era of minimalist hairpins and sleek updos, this ornate headpiece feels less like a wedding and more like a ritual from a forgotten dynasty. The audience’s confusion is valid; it doesn’t fit the typical Fengguan (凤冠) we are used to.
Yet, this design from Jiangmen Duhou (将门独后) is not born from a stylist’s fever dream. While the drama is set in a fictional historical period, the costume department has woven together three distinct historical artifacts into one ambitious headpiece. The result is a Frankenstein’s monster of ancient fashion – a bizarre yet historically-rooted creation that challenges our modern expectations of what a bride should look like.
The Beaded Step Sway
The long tassels dangling from every edge of the crown are a dramatic reimagining of the ancient Buyao (步摇). This was not an invention of the Tang Dynasty but had its rudimentary form as far back as the pre-Qin period, where tiny jade pieces were attached to a hairpin to sway with each step. It wasn’t until the Han Dynasty that the name “Buyao” was formalized and integrated into court etiquette, signifying a woman’s status. The Tang Dynasty witnessed its golden age, with elite women adorning their hair with single dangling ornaments or elaborate clusters. The murals in the Dunhuang Mogao Caves (敦煌莫高窟) depict female donors with these long, swaying beads framing their faces, and the famous painting Court Ladies Adorning Their Hair with Flowers (簪花仕女图) showcases this aesthetic beautifully.
However, the show takes a radical turn. Instead of inserting the beads loosely into her hair, the costume team has integrated them all onto a fixed crown’s brim. This concentration is unprecedented; they have amplified the visual quantity to create a gravity akin to the Mianliu (冕旒) – the imperial tassels worn by emperors. It elevates the bridal headpiece from a mere accessory to a symbol of overwhelming authority. This concentrated design likely aims to project power, not just beauty, fitting a character who may be a general’s daughter. The adaptation prioritizes the dramatic weight of the beads over the delicate, individual movement that defined its historical predecessor.
2The Face Veil
The most controversial element is the net of pearls obscuring her forehead. Many dismiss it as a modern studio invention, yet it has deep historical roots. The earliest form, the face veil, was actually a practical tool for travel. During the Tang Dynasty, women wore Weimao (帷帽), a wide-brimmed hat with a gauze curtain reaching down to the neck, shielding their faces from dust and prying eyes. As the empire prospered, this utilitarian object transformed. By the High Tang period, decorative short beaded curtains began to appear at the foreheads of noblewomen during banquets, merging the veil’s mystique with fashion.
This evolution reached a formalized peak in the Song Dynasty with the “Weiji” (围髻). This was a formal headdress accessory – a loose net of fine pearls woven together to drape precisely over the forehead. It remained popular through the Ming Dynasty, as seen in numerous portraits of aristocratic ladies. The drama has taken this historical “Weiji” and scaled it up, extending its coverage from the crown’s edge all the way down to the eyebrows. By doing so, it combines the practical obscuring nature of the Weimao with the decorative elegance of the ceremonial Weiji. It transforms a subtle ornament into a bold architectural feature, creating a barrier between the bride and the viewer, which enhances the solemnity of the wedding ritual.
The Sky River Ribbon
Flanking the crown are two long red ribbons that flow down to her torso. This is an updated, dramatized version of the historical Tianhe Dai (天河带), or “Sky River Ribbon”. Its origins lie in the “Dan” (紞), short silk cords that hung from the sides of a ceremonial crown down to the earlobes, often with a Chong’er (充耳) at the end. These were not decorative; they were a moral reminder for the wearer to ignore slander. But the Tang Dynasty revolutionized this design, lengthening the cords dramatically, passing them over the top of the crown’s board and dropping them down to the chest or even the floor. This extended, flowing ribbon was formally christened the “Tianhe Dai” during the Song Dynasty in the official history text Song Shi (宋史).
Historically, this ribbon was exclusively for emperors and the highest-ranking nobility – a stark marker of supreme status. In the drama, however, it is adapted for a woman’s wedding. The color has been changed to a bright, fiery red to match her wedding gown, creating a cohesive visual. More importantly, it serves a crucial structural role: it vertically elongates the entire headpiece. Without it, the heavily beaded crown would appear squat and heavy. The ribbons provide balance, guiding the eye up and down and adding a sense of motion to a static, heavy crown. This bold use of color and scale maintains a connection to historical prestige while adapting it entirely for a new visual narrative.
Therefore, Meng Ziyi’s look in Jiangmen Duhou is not a random creation but an ambitious collage of historical facts. The costume team has fused the Buyao, the Weiji, and the Tianhe Dai into a single entity. It’s a design that values dramatic impact and character status over subtle historical realism. We are so conditioned to seeing phoenix crowns that this hybrid design feels alien. It’s a bold risk that pays off in novelty but is disorienting to the modern eye. This is a character who does not just marry; she makes a grand statement. Do we find it beautiful? Perhaps not in the traditional sense. Yet, the sheer audacity of creating a historically-grounded yet visually jarring ensemble is what makes it memorable, pushing the boundaries of period drama costume design.