Every piece of clothing is personally handmade by Hu and her partners, from design to assembly. In the early days, they used fresh farm produce to create outfits. So as not to waste food, most creations were dismantled after the show for human consumption or livestock feed. Nowadays, most of the costumes are made from eco-friendly materials.

　　Hu Mengfan, 28, of Suizhou, Hubei province, designs haute couture garments using fruits and vegetables. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

　　"Take the outfit themed on cabbage, for example," Hu said. "We cut out more than 2,000 leaves, followed by spray dyeing and shaping."

　　Hu has made all manner of stylized garments from scratch. Processing the raw materials alone can sometimes take two or three days. Since most of the farm produce used in the costumes is perishable, photography has to proceed immediately. Sometimes hundreds of takes are needed to get a single clip right.

　　Hu Mengfan, 28, of Suizhou, Hubei province, designs haute couture garments using fruits and vegetables. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

　　Through continuous experimentation, the team has created nearly 200 sets of costumes, sourcing distinctive agricultural products from Suizhou and provinces across China.

　　The videos have helped expand exposure to tourists. Hu"s own family mushroom farm venue provides a hands-on vegetable picking experience and receives around 20,000 visitors per year. She also helps train residents in e-commerce and how to make short videos.

　　"I want agricultural goods to be more than just food on the dining table," she said. "I want to create distinctive calling cards for rural areas."