Cover news reporter Yang Ruiwen
A hibiscus flower was woven on the embroidery machine. The anchor Shi Liu repeatedly adjusted the live broadcast equipment. The designer's pen moved rapidly on the drawing board. At that time, a car set off from Pengzhou, carrying various styles of ready-made clothes and rushed towards the company... This is the scene at nine o'clock in the morning when employees of the Hanfu brand "Return to the Han and Tang Dynasties" are preparing for the release of new winter products.
Lu Xiaowei is the founder of Chengdu Hantang Culture Communication Co., Ltd. Her colleagues in the Hanfu circle prefer to call her "Green Pearl". The entrepreneurial history of "Return to the Han and Tang Dynasties" is almost a microcosm of the history of changes in the domestic Hanfu industry.
Lv Xiaowei, who has participated in and witnessed the "return" of Hanfu and is still running for the revival of Hanfu culture, has two wishes: to let everyone have their own set of Hanfu; to make the return to Han and Tang Dynasties a century-old event Brand, leading the trend of Hanfu.
Resigned from the TV station
Established the first physical Hanfu store in the country
In 1980, Lu Xiaowei was born in Chengdu, Sichuan , after graduating from the School of Journalism of Sichuan University, his first job was working for Chengdu TV Station, and he was a proper "other people's child".
In 2003, an electric power worker named "Wang Letian" in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, took to the streets of Zhengzhou wearing Hanfu and caused a sensation across the country. In Chengdu, Sichuan, Lv Xiaowei and her husband Sun Yi began to be exposed to Hanfu culture due to their sensitivity to news. Because of my love for Chinese culture and Hanfu,In November 2004, Sun Yi completed the composition of lyrics and music for "Return to the Han and Tang Dynasties". The song says: Wear the clothes of my Han family and build my country of etiquette.
In 2006, Lu Xiaowei made a decision that affected his life. He resigned from the TV station and founded Huantang. This decision seemed almost crazy to outsiders. She founded the country's first physical Hanfu store - Return to the Han and Tang Dynasties - in Wenshufang, Chengdu.
You must know that at that time, there were only a few domestic literature materials for Lu Xiaowei to refer to, such as Shen Congwen's "Research on Ancient Chinese Costumes" and Zhou Xibao's "History of Ancient Chinese Costumes". No factory is willing to take orders for Hanfu, no designer understands Hanfu design, and there is no business model for reference. For China's first batch of Hanfu industry entrepreneurs like Lu Xiaowei, they don't know the way forward, or even have no way to go. They either give up or find their own way.
With enthusiasm, Hanfu shopkeepers study and promote Hanfu culture while developing products, and occasionally act as models, photographers, and salesmen. Since there are not many products, the trend of Hanfu is whatever the shopkeeper wears.
However, shopkeepers have different understandings of Hanfu. Some people love to restore unearthed Hanfu, some randomly mix elements from different dynasties together, and others refer to film and television drama costumes. Forced retro, photo studio style, fairy party, ancient tomb sect... the Hanfu industry that seems to be in full bloom is actually in chaos, and the crazy copycats make people want to quit. You can’t even imagine that even in 2010, in a very tolerant city like Chengdu, there would still be people wearing Hanfu who were misunderstood as having strange clothes and were harassed. In the end, they had no choice but to take off their Hanfu in public places to escape.
Lu Xiaowei, who gave up the "golden rice bowl", persisted from such a situation. Looking back at the process of commercialization of Hanfu, Lv Xiaowei hopes to revive the traditional culture by revitalizing the Hanfu industry.
Focus on communication with designers
Keep abreast of the trend of Hanfu trends
E-commerce is like a fish to Hanfu Inseparable from water, in fact, while developing physical stores, Lu Xiaowei also attaches great importance to the development and operation of e-commerce platforms. After 2018, China's Hanfu industry has entered a golden period of development. There are more than 100 physical Hanfu stores in Chengdu alone, and more than 40,000 young people in Chengdu have opened Hanfu stores on Taobao. At that time, Lu Xiaowei had already made Return to the Han and Tang Dynasties one of the benchmarks for Chinese Hanfu. At present, Huihui Hantang has 5 online brand stores and over 30 Hanfu physical stores, with annual sales exceeding 100 million.
As the industry develops, the Hanfu circle continues to grow, and the people leading the Hanfu trend are also changing. "The seasons, the restoration models jointly created by archaeological researchers and Hanfu brands will affect the trend, but the needs of the core consumers of Hanfu have begun to lead the trend." Lu Xiaowei said that after returning to the Han and Tang Dynasties, the operation and management are now in charge of her husband Sun Yi. What she has to do is to promote Hanfu culture while ensuring that she returns to the Han and Tang Dynasties to firmly grasp the trend of Hanfu.
Shopping in stores is Lv Xiaowei’s favorite thing. Since she fell in love with Hanfu, Lv Xiaowei almost no longer wears Western clothes. The physical stores of the Han and Tang Dynasties all over the country have become her wardrobe. In addition to shopping for clothes, there are many benefits to interacting with front-line employees in physical stores. She found that the market response to a men's clothing that both she and the designer liked very much was not as good as expected. Boys' Hanfu was in short supply during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day. As more and more Hanfus are unearthed, the original ties between the seasons and the shapes of Hanfus have gradually been lifted. Lu Xiaowei has to communicate with the designers in a timely manner.
Physical stores play a positive role in cultivating core consumers of Hanfu. Since the core consumer groups of Hanfu are more price-sensitive, no matter what the scale of the Hanfu brand is, they all hope that the prices of their offline stores and online stores will be consistent. This not only restricts the development of Hanfu franchise stores, but also affects the development of Hanfu direct stores. business. In Lu Xiaowei's view, what is more important than insisting on opening physical stores across the country is actually the creation of a window for the dissemination and experience of Hanfu.
There is no threshold for Hanfu, but there is a threshold for wearing Hanfu and styling Hanfu. In physical stores, consumers can quickly learn the most comfortable and safe way to wear Tang-made chest-high women's clothing, and learn how to choose headwear and accessories. Cultivate ordinary consumers into core consumers, and then grasp and influence their needs.
Helping Chengdu build the “No. 1 Hanfu City in China”
Being a century-old brand that leads the trend
As early as 2016 In 2009, Xiahan Elements Store, a Chinese primary school affiliated to Return to Hantang, was launched. In addition to traditional Hanfu with correct shapes, modern Hanfu and Han-element clothing have developed rapidly in recent years, especially children's clothing and women's skirts. With the changes in the concepts of parents and schools, these parent-child clothing and student clothing that conform to contemporary aesthetics and are practical have won market recognition. .
Clothes are recognized, but it will take time for people to become loyal and recognized for the brand. Lu Xiaowei wants to realize the "century-old brand dream" of returning to the Han and Tang Dynasties. It will take time to become a Hanfu brand that exports cultural value to China and leads the world's clothing trends.
"In just 15 years, Hanfu is no longer a fancy dress in people's eyes. People born in the 1960s to the 2000s have become fans of Hanfu, especially those born in the 90s and 2000s. When talking about the shape of Hanfu, they are very clear. ." Lu Xiaowei, founder of Return to Hantang, said that through the mass production of modern machines, the cost of Hanfu has been greatly reduced compared with before, and it is increasingly favored by consumers of the younger generation and other age groups.
However, if Chinese Hanfu brands want to lead the trend like big European and American brands, they must leverage the high-end market. "The high-end market needs a mass base, and building a brand takes time. The high cost does not mean that consumers can pay. Hanfu brand consumption is not enough to add identity blessing and cultural premium to high-end people. We need time." This is a return to the Han and Tang Dynasties. After the launch of Shu brocade and Shu embroidery Hanfu series with poor sales, Lu Xiaowei summed up the experience. At present, most of the products in the high-end Hanfu market are customized, and high prices are often accompanied by high costs, which is different from the ready-to-wear market. The high-end market for Hanfu ready-made clothing is still blank.
“Hanfu itself carries many traditional skills, and they complement each other.” By participating in the 2021 Second China Chengdu, guided by the Chengdu Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau, co-sponsored by Chengdu Tourism Investment Group and other units During the International Hanfu Cultural Activities, Lu Xiaowei discovered that Sichuan brocade and Sichuan embroidery companies are also innovating and reducing costs. She believes that "Chengdu is committed to building 'China's No. 1 Hanfu City', and similar Hanfu innovative and creative design competitions and 'Interpretation of Chengdu Hanfu Brand Story' online communication activities are powerful elements in promoting the development of the industry."
"Using is inheritance, cultural confidence must be 'worn' on the body!" in Lu XiaoIn Wei's view, perhaps in the future, as the high-end market's recognition of top Hanfu brands such as Return to Han and Tang Dynasties increases, and the cost of traditional skills such as Shu brocade and Shu embroidery decreases, integration and innovation can really become an opportunity for Hanfu to leverage the high-end market. , let the Hanfu brand lead the trend of Hanfu, and let Hanfu lead the world's clothing trend.
Event preview: Big names gather, colleagues gather...
The 2021 Second China Chengdu International Hanfu Cultural Event
Fashion Ceremony and Hanfu The finals of the Innovation and Creative Design Competition
will be held in Pingle Ancient Town, Qionglai
The event will last for three days
For the majority of Hanfu fellows and tourists
Bringing exciting new national trend experience
Stay tuned
