Why are "new Chinese clothing" represented by horse-faced skirts so popular? China's clothing industry is ushering in good development opportunities by leveraging the spread of traditional culture
Culture is the background of the craze for "new Chinese clothing"
Traditional fragrance The color of cloud yarn is relatively monotonous, while the intricate embroidery craftsmanship is emphasized. The improved new Chinese-style Xiangyun gauze jacket uses the penetration of technological fabrics to increase the color of Xiangyun gauze while retaining its lightness and breathability, making it easier to wear in the Lingnan climate.
Horse-faced skirts are traditionally made of Yun brocade and Song brocade fabrics. They are famous for their elegance, are complicated to craft and expensive. The fabrics of new Chinese-style horse skirts are mostly made of chiffon and chemical fiber. The embroidery is changed to printed jacquard, and the price is more affordable.
The cheongsam has changed from a traditional curve to a large silhouette. The new Chinese style elements have been improved to eliminate complexity and simplify it. It is embellished with simple large silhouette and buckle details. In addition to being worn alone, it can also be worn with Pants and skirts are layered.
The Chinese-style men’s shirt is inspired by the “Tang suit” and cleverly uses modern stand-up collar elements. Traditionally speaking, the buckle element is more commonly used in women's cheongsam, while some modern Chinese-style men's shirts go the other way, turning the buckles into decorations on the shoulders or cuffs of the shirt.
Industry Observation
The horse-faced skirt is undoubtedly the “star” at the beginning of the clothing industry in 2024. “Nearly 77% of it was sold online in just two months. The topic of "billions" has become a hot search. From a cultural and historical perspective, the horse-faced skirt is both a traditional Hanfu and a "new Chinese costume." The "dual cultural identity" brought about by the "dual identity" is the hot-selling password of the horse-faced skirt.
According to the "2024 Douyin E-commerce Women's Consumption Trend Data Report", in 2023, the number of orders for women on the Douyin platform to purchase "new Chinese clothing" increased by 195% year-on-year; among them, orders for horse-faced skirts Volume increased by 841% year-on-year.
Why did the horse-faced skirt become a popular item among the people? What business and cultural codes are hidden behind the "new Chinese clothing" represented by it? The answer is: a high degree of recognition of traditional culture, leveraging mature industrial chains, and creating "new Chinese-style" opportunities.
More and more people are walking in the streets and alleys wearing Chinese-style clothes
The popularity of horse-faced skirts is apparently due to the July 2022 The public opinion incident involving the luxury brand Dior triggered a high amount of interaction on the topic of horse-faced skirts. However, many people in the clothing industry believe that this incident is just the "tipping point" of the popularity of horse-face skirts. The deeper reason lies in consumers' recognition of Chinese traditional culture and cultural confidence.
Many young people, middle-aged people and even the elderly have become obsessed with new Chinese-style clothing and have become the main consumer force. "In the past six months, I have bought several horse-face skirts, with prices ranging from 100 yuan to 500 yuan." Ms. Chen, a "post-75s generation", told reporters that she also "got into" horse-face skirts six months ago. At the same time, Ms. Chen is also actively participating in live broadcasts and social media discussions related to horse-faced skirts, and even "began to be interested in designing horse-faced skirts."”.
More and more people are walking in the streets wearing Chinese-style costumes, and there are also many “horse-faced skirt fans” like Xiaotong. The reporter searched for “horse-faced skirt” in Xiaohongshu , it was found that there are as many as 15 categories of theme creation notes related to it, ranging from daily wear, shops, Hanfu to hairstyles, etc. Only the topic "Horse Face Skirt Turns Out to Spring" launched on April 2 has received as many views as of the time of publication. 9.223 million views
Junjun from Guangzhou is born in the 1990s and has been interested in ancient styles since he was a child. He used to admire the clothes of the characters in the TV series, especially the heroic figures of girls galloping on horses. When I was in middle school, I became a lover of classical aesthetics. I often went on outings with my best friends to cosplay some ancient characters. In recent years, Junjun came into contact with new Chinese style and discovered: “It turns out that you can also wear such classical clothes in daily life. "So I have always enjoyed this feeling of freedom in dressing. As a child born in the 1990s, Xiaotong thinks that the prices of today's new Chinese style are "very friendly", and it can be said that people are rich and frugal.
Chinese Fashion Design Deng Zhaoping, winner of the "Golden Summit Award" and China Textile Intangible Cultural Heritage Promotion Ambassador, believes that the most important reason for the popularity of new Chinese-style clothing is that Chinese people generally have a high sense of cultural identity. "In addition, contemporary designers have a strong interest in traditional new Chinese-style clothing." The bold improvements also reflect the strengthening of China’s design voice. "Deng Zhaoping said.
The Guangzhou industrial belt is mainly based on improved and daily new Chinese-style clothing
"The horse-faced skirt is one of the representative works of the new Chinese style. "Has formed a cultural symbol and consumption trend," iiMedia Consulting CEO Zhang Yi said that the horse-faced skirt market has great potential for growth. According to reports, judging from the situation in the past year, the horse-faced skirt has formed a market capacity of billions , Most Hanfu-related companies are involved in the production and design of horse-faced skirts.
Zhang Yi introduced that the current midstream production and downstream distribution of horse-faced skirts have matured rapidly in China, and have also attracted more customers. Many brands choose to build their own supply chains or cooperate with small and medium-sized brands. The rapid maturity of the industry chain is mainly due to the promotion of traditional culture among the current Chinese people. “New Chinese-style clothing combines elements of traditional Chinese culture and modern aesthetic trends. At the same time, it shows the trend of integration of culture and manufacturing. ”
“Cultural recognition and bold design can become a reality, and the confidence lies in the complete industrial chain of my country’s textile and clothing industry, and Guangzhou is the leader among them. "Deng Zhaoping said.
According to the "Taobao 2024 Spring and Summer Apparel Industry Trends White Paper", Taobao's clothing and Hanfu category industry belts are relatively concentrated in Guangzhou, Heze and Hangzhou. The white paper mentioned that different industrial regions focus on The categories of Hanfu are different. The hot-selling products produced in Heze are concentrated in Song, Tang, Ming and Wei-Jin styles. The hot-selling products in Guangzhou's industrial belt are mainly improved and everyday Hanfu. Guangzhou is my country's Hanfu supply chain. The epitome of maturity, its influence continues to radiate across the country. In addition to "Xinghe Hange", many original Hanfu brands are headquartered in Guangzhou, includingIncluding leading brands such as Minghuatang, Ruyifang, Hanshang Hualian, and Weaving Division.
Since January this year, the sales volume of new Chinese-style clothing such as horse-faced skirts in Guangzhou Baima Clothing Market has increased nearly five times month-on-month, and the proportion of new Chinese-style clothing in the market has increased significantly. Currently, there are more than 80 brands selling horse-faced skirts in Baima Chang, of which nearly 30% specialize in selling horse-faced skirts and 70% sell new Chinese-style clothing. "The sales volume of horse-faced skirts has increased threefold compared with previous years." Song Shuang, the brand manager of Jiangpinsha, has his factory and design and R&D department in Guangzhou. He has his own production chain specializing in the production of new Chinese-style clothing such as horse-faced skirts and cheongsams. . Zhang Yiwen, the manager and designer of the "Shangjie" brand in Baima, said that through improved design, the audience of new Chinese style has changed from the elderly to all ages. "Our fabrics are mainly produced in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and the design and development are in the Guangzhou headquarters." Zhang Yiwen plans to move towards a concept with more Eastern heritage with his new brand, focusing on customization.
Guangzhou Baima Clothing Market revealed to reporters that with the popularity of horse-faced skirts and new Chinese-style clothing, Baima has integrated the procurement needs of the second batch of domestic markets and entered into cooperation with Shandong Luokou in mid-March and early April respectively. The clothing city is connected with Sichuan Chengdu International Trade City to promote the sales of new Chinese-style women's clothing, hoping to drive a win-win situation for all parties in the industry and industrial chain.
The "new" clothing of "New Chinese Style" is innovating from the old and bringing forth the new
The robe is light and fluttering, and the light train is blown back by the wind. Horse-faced skirt, also known as "horse-faced pleated skirt", has pleats on both sides and a smooth section in the middle. It is named after the shape of the "horse-faced" tower-like building protruding next to the ancient city wall. At present, the most widely used model in the consumer market is the horse-faced skirt of the Song Dynasty. Tracing back to history, we found that the word "horse face" first appeared in "History of the Ming Palace" and was used to describe a specific form of clothing. Its name comes from its unique design, which means that the front and back lapels are not connected, and the two overlap to form the shape of a horse face. This design is similar to the horse face (a platform protruding from the wall) on the city wall, hence the name "horse face skirt".
A veteran in the clothing industry told reporters that the history of horse-faced skirts dates back to the Song Dynasty because the skirts at that time already had the basic shape of horse-faced skirts, which were called "spin skirts" or "crotch-open skirts." skirt". If we take the improved horse-faced skirt as an example, the most preserved part is the "pleating" technology in the "horse-faced pleated skirt".
In addition to horse-faced skirts, new Chinese-style clothing also has a variety of rich styles, mainly refining silhouettes and elements from national style. "New Chinese" clothing style has evolved from traditional Chinese clothing style and retains the most essential features of traditional Chinese clothing. Taking the most popular horse-face skirt as an example, the design is combined with a retro jacquard elastic waistband, integrating modern people's aesthetics and modern design and tailoring, making traditional Chinese dresses more suitable for contemporary people's pursuit of simplicity and fashion
Fabric is also an innovation in new Chinese clothing. Song Shuang, the brand manager of Baima Shangjiangpinsha, told reporters that the fabrics of new Chinese-style clothing are mainly Xiangyun yarn and Song brocade, with a small amount of mulberry silk and acetate fabrics. Nowadays, consumers are more inclined to choose high-quality Xiangyun yarn, mulberry silk and other fabrics.
The starting point of new Chinese clothing innovation is to make traditional clothing more relevant to modern life. Deng Zhaoping said that from "pan buckles" to "cloud shoulders", from "flowers and birds" to "landscapes", from embroidery, batik to lanterns, the "new Chinese style" trend not only brings new solutions to the use of traditional clothing production techniques The idea further enhances the Chinese culture represented by “New Chinese Style”.
"Chinese aesthetics + modern improvement" broadens the path forward for the new Chinese clothing industry
Chinese aesthetics + modern improvement is the path for the sustainable development of the new Chinese clothing industry.
Lin Qi, one of China's top ten fashion designers and the founder of the Life on the Left brand, told reporters that while she carefully researched hundreds of antique horse-faced skirts, she also recreated and developed improved horse-faced skirts for consumers. skirt. Among them, the semi-customized modified horse skirt is very popular.
Ru Yifang, which appeared in the spring show of Guangdong Fashion Week this year, focuses on Chinese aesthetics. Chen Yiran, founder and creative director of Ruyifang, said that the sustainable value of intangible cultural heritage is a concept of fashion wealth. "As a 'standard product', the horse-faced skirt should be trended towards high-end design in the future." In the clothing category, " "Standard product" means that it can be both daily and fashionable. It has more advantages in popularity and communication, and its function is similar to that of a T-shirt.
Chen Shaotong, vice president and secretary-general of the Guangdong Garment and Apparel Industry Association, pointed out that the fashion industry is not only an important part of economic development, but also bears the mission of cultural inheritance and innovation. "The competition of new Chinese-style clothing in the future will be based on a mature and complete industrial chain and develop towards high-end design." (Guangzhou Daily all-media reporters Tan Weiting and Xu Xiaofang)
