BEIJING — With the continuous interest in traditional culture, the “new Chinese style” of clothing, which cleverly blends traditional and modern elements, is in the spotlight during this year”s Spring Festival, and is increasingly gaining popularity, particularly among young Chinese.
During this holiday, visitors dressed in new Chinese-style clothing have frequently been spotted at popular tourist attractions, restaurants, department stores, and temple fairs. They donned outfits such as quilted vests featuring dragon and phoenix motifs, Song brocade jackets with traditional Chinese frog buttons, and Chinese traditional horse-face skirts.
What was formerly popular only among the older generation has now transformed into a fashion trend among the younger generation, thanks to the artful and bold combination of traditional Chinese elements and modern design. Many social media users refer to this trend as “bloodline awakening.”
Following the tradition of wearing new clothes for the new year, an Anhui Province resident surnamed Zhang bought her daughter a bright red set of Chinese New Year’s clothing ahead of the Spring Festival.
“This year, I intentionally bought my child the popular Chinese-style horse-face skirt ensemble. This clothing is thick and warm, while also making my child look both festive and adorable when wearing it,” Zhang said.
According to e-commerce data from Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, videos with hashtags like “China-chic” or “new Chinese-style outfit” garnered more than 500 million views amid a shopping festival that ran between Jan. 13 to 28 this year. Sales volume increased over 21-fold compared with the same period last year.
On Xiaohongshu, a major lifestyle-focused social media platform in China, the hashtag “new Chinese-style outfits” has already received over 1.8 billion views.
This trend is also having a significant impact offline. Sales at a specialized new Chinese-style clothing store in Beijing have recently recorded a rapid increase.
A salesperson surnamed Zhao said that many customers have visited the store in recent times to buy new Chinese-style clothing for their Spring Festival celebrations. Items featuring motifs like a peony, which symbolizes wealth, or a gourd, which is homophonic with a Chinese word meaning blessings and prosperity, are proving particularly popular, according to Zhao.
For many young consumers, new Chinese-style clothing is softening the sense of solemnity associated with traditional attire, allowing such clothing to blend seamlessly into their daily lives of work or study, while still retaining a festive atmosphere.
Zhu Chen, a 24-year-old woman, recently developed an interest in new Chinese-style clothing. As a result, she embarked on an expansive exploration within Beijing in her quest to buy a set of new Chinese-style clothing.
From her perspective, this fashion trend is a manifestation of cultural confidence. Zhu said: “In the past, people might have thought that wearing designer brands was the only way to show good taste. However, nowadays, many prefer to wear clothing that represents Chinese culture when going out — even when traveling abroad.”
Zhu added that she had seen people wearing new Chinese-style clothes while visiting the British Museum as well as when traveling in the United States. “It looks great,” she exclaimed.
Cheng Min, a university student in her 20s, said that she had bought new Chinese-style clothing specifically to welcome the Chinese Lunar New Year. “I find that wearing Chinese-style clothing for the Spring Festival is a unique and romantic tradition for Chinese people,” Cheng said.
Wei Pengju, a culture and communications professor at the Central University of Finance and Economics, said that “the continuous integration of traditional cultural elements into modern lifestyles through new designs and expressions is the key to the increased popularity of new Chinese-style clothing.”
As customers’ sense of identification with and pride in traditional culture continues to strengthen, traditional culture will continuously empower new forms of consumption and activate new consumption dynamics, Wei added.