At the beginning of 2024, topics such as "New Chinese Embroidery Wearing" and "Why Young People Like New Chinese Style" have appeared on the hot search list one after another, pushing new Chinese clothing to the peak of discussion again.
From a niche circle to now, the audience of new Chinese clothing is wider, and there are more players in the track. According to Tmall's 2023 data, the scale of the mainland's new Chinese clothing market has reached 1 billion yuan.
Why do consumers love to wear new Chinese style more and more? What is new about new Chinese style? Under the unprecedented heat, is the business of new Chinese clothing really easy to do?
At the scene of the Chinese wedding courtyard show in Badaguan, Qingdao, the model showed the new Chinese bridal dress catwalk. (PHOTO COURTESY OF CNSPHOTO)
I wear a new costume
The "new Chinese" style, which combines classical and modern elements, has been unique in recent times. From home decoration to milk tea catering, clothing, food, housing and transportation, almost all aspects can see the shadow of new Chinese style.
Looking at the field of shoes and apparel, the new Chinese style is even more popular through half the sky. Open the social software, celebrities attending events are wearing new Chinese style, fashion bloggers are recommending new Chinese style, and ordinary users have also sent out purchase help posts in order to "plant" new Chinese clothing.
On the Xiaohongshu platform alone, as of press time, there have been more than 2.1 million notes related to "new Chinese wear", and the most popular one has been liked 138,000 times. On the Taobao platform, the "New Chinese-style Song Jin Jacket" ranked among the top of the hot search list on January 24, with a popularity of 4.448 million.
"New Chinese-style Song Jin Jacket" has become a hot search product on Taobao platform. (Picture taken from Taobao hot search list on January 24)
"The 'new' of the new Chinese style is mainly reflected in the fact that this style is based on traditional Chinese elements with modern design. He Ping, who is engaged in design-related work in the head clothing brand, told a reporter from China Business Daily, "For example, from the perspective of design elements, classic Chinese elements such as buckles and cloud shoulders can be added; from the perspective of style, they can be combined with Chinese clothing types such as cheongsam; from the perspective of fabrics, modern special designs can be added to the embroidered cloth, and finally present a form that is both elegant and in line with modern aesthetic pursuits." ”
Unlike Hanfu, which is strictly about form, new Chinese clothing can often be more daring and even more groundbreaking in the design process. Puff-sleeved cheongsam, button-down top with pleated skirt...... These eye-catching combinations also highlight the innovation and inclusiveness of the new Chinese style.
From the perspective of the logic behind it, the driving force of celebrities and talents has naturally played a lot of positive effects on the explosion of new Chinese clothing, but the more important reason why it can be more widely recognized is the further improvement of consumer cultural self-confidence. With the Spring Festival approaching, Ms. Jiang, a consumer, bought a new Chinese-style down jacket with a buckle, she said: "Guotai Min'an's outfit is the best solution for the New Year." ”
Who's involved
Among the main consumers of new Chinese clothing, Generation Z is indispensable.
Fashion designer Yo You believes that Generation Z grew up in an era of strong national strength, and their cultural self-confidence and sense of national identity are almost innate. The new Chinese style is rooted in excellent traditional culture, and is good at integrating with other cultures to form individual aesthetic characteristics, which are in line with the pursuit of unique personality and taste of young consumer groups.
In addition to daily life, new Chinese clothing is also popular in major cultural and tourism attractions. "In Xi'an's Datang Sleepless City, many young people will deliberately wear new Chinese style to check in. He Ping said.
In addition, the increase in consumer demand for new Chinese clothing has also attracted more related brands to participate. In particular, some brands that focus on highlighting trends and individual expressions in brand positioning will be relatively less constrained when entering the new Chinese style.
Among the clothing brands that consumers are familiar with, MO&Co. and its sister brands Edition, Dazzle, etc., have launched new Chinese product lines in 2023. Among the new products in the spring of 2024, the new Chinese series of "Peach Powder New Year" launched by MO&Co. occupies almost the vast majority of the space on the homepage of its Tmall flagship store. In offline stores, the red new Chinese top, which is a new product, is also placed in a prominent position at the entrance.
A new Chinese top in MO&Co.'s Spring 2024 new arrivals. (China Business Daily reporter Yu Jiaxin/photo)
"Many of the products in the new series use mulberry silk fabrics, and the design mainly uses peach blossom and bamboo elements, giving people the image of spring flowers. MO&Co. store sales staff told reporters.
In addition, many niche designer brands that mainly promote new Chinese style have gradually entered the public eye. At present, brands such as Uma Wang, M Essential, and Samuel Gui Yang have accumulated a good reputation among new Chinese clothing lovers. Some fashion bloggers believe that Samuel Gui Yang combines the traditional impression of only men's tunics with women's clothing designs in many products, presenting a beautiful and handsome effect, reflecting the heroic beauty of women.
Difficult scriptures
After becoming a hit, can the successful new Chinese brand quickly replicate and promote the experience?
The answer is that some of them can, but it's hard to do it all.
He Ping believes that the difficulty for clothing brands to enter the new Chinese style lies first in whether their own positioning can have a more appropriate docking with the new Chinese style. "Design concepts, design stories, design ideas, these things that the brand itself has cannot be grafted with the new Chinese style, but to find the right connection point, otherwise it will appear abrupt and even destroy the positioning and development of the brand. ”
In fact, for more mature clothing brands, it is not easy to break through the existing positioning and invest in the operation of new products. "Every brand has its own design style, and the styles they put out will revolve around their own style. He Ping told reporters that the style positioning of his brand is "French elegant woman", so it is difficult to explore the new Chinese style.
Judging from the existing finished products, there is also a broader space for thinking and design in the new Chinese style. There is a view that some of the so-called new Chinese clothing is actually just a repeated stacking or straightforward use of traditional elements, and lacks the subtle artistic conception emphasized by oriental aesthetics in design. Some attentive consumers also found that the new Chinese clothing launched by some brands violated the traditional etiquette taboo in terms of the position and number of buckles, which is not a reasonable modern improvement, and will only make consumers feel that the brand treats the design utilitarian and impetuous.
And once it is implemented in the elaborate design process, the brand will also face the problem of R&D costs. "A lot of new Chinese clothing, such as cheongsam or dresses, requires a very high level of plate design if you want to achieve the perfect effect of flattering the body. However, the cost of plate type development is often very high for brands. He Ping said.
In addition, if Chinese culture wants to truly "go global", how to strengthen the overseas market expansion of new Chinese clothing is also a problem that needs to be considered in the future. He Ping told reporters that judging from the results of the international fashion trend survey carried out by its brand, the popularity of the new Chinese style is accompanied by the rise of domestic products, but in the world, the scope of its popularity is still relatively limited.
However, the industry still has high expectations for the prospect of new Chinese clothing. "Many new Chinese clothing has achieved the perfect combination of ancient charm and trend, and these excellent attempts deserve to be seen and liked by more people. He Ping said. (Reporter Yu Jiaxin)
(At the request of the interviewee, He Ping is a pseudonym in the article)
Source: China Business Daily