The "New Chinese Style" Reflects More Chinese Philosophy And Humanity

Chinese jacket with jeans, button down leather jacket with hoodie, knitted sweater with horse face skirt... Recently, a fashion trend led by "new Chinese style" has been quietly surging, and you can always see it in the streets and tourist attractions.

According to the sales data of an e-commerce platform, since January this year, the turnover of Chinese clothing categories such as horse face skirts has increased by more than 300% year on year; During the Spring Festival, the turnover of Han style clothing increased by 325% year on year. "Why do young people like 'new Chinese style'" and other topics have been on the hot search one after another. On a short video platform, the number of short videos with the topic of "new Chinese style clothing" exceeded 10.6 billion.

Hanfu enthusiasts show Hanfu in front of the "London Eye" in the UK. Photographed by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Ying

　　 Be sought after by the younger generation

It can not only reflect the charm of China's excellent traditional culture, but also integrate into daily wear. "New Chinese style" clothing is being sought after by the younger generation.

"The 'new Chinese style' clothing fits well with traditional festivals too well, so I chose the Hanfu as the 'New Year's Warfare Robe' during the Spring Festival." Zhou Tong, a graduate student in Beijing, said, "The Spring Festival is a traditional festival in China. The 'new Chinese style' clothing contains elements of traditional Chinese clothing, which not only conforms to traditional festival customs, but also is very happy."

It's a beautiful time of spring. Enjoy the spring in the garden, and the "new Chinese style" clothing and Chinese architecture complement each other. One we media blogger shared her story on the social platform: one day, she was dressed in a Han suit and playing in the Humble Administrator's Garden in Suzhou. She was praised by a foreign sister as beautiful. The little foreign sister took a picture for her: under the bright sun, the whole person seemed to be shining. "At that moment, I felt more proud of China's 5000 year civilization," the blogger said in his post.

Where is the "new Chinese style" new? The "new Chinese style" clothing is not as grand and gorgeous as the full set of traditional clothing. The main focus is not only to retain the traditional characteristics, but also to be fashionable and practical. For example, some "new Chinese style" clothes are skillfully integrated with flowers, birds, and dark landscape patterns. These exquisite patterns are only visible in the sun, low-key and elegant, which can be worn for travel and work.

Zheng Chaoying, from Fujian, began to understand the "new Chinese style" of dressing because her favorite singer wore Chinese clothes during the performance. She said: "When I went to work, I wore a 'new Chinese style' shirt with pants, or a shirt with a pony dress, which felt very suitable. I also gave a fashionable cheongsam to my friend as a gift, which she also liked."

In the live broadcast room, there are more and more "new Chinese style" clothing styles; In the circle of friends, people have shown their own "new Chinese style" clothing - in the rapid spread of the Internet, more and more people feel the lasting charm of the traditional Chinese clothing. Under the influence of the Internet, Ms. Zhang from Liaoning began to try "new Chinese style" clothing. "I was planted with 'New Chinese Style' by bloggers on social media, and felt beautiful after I got up, and the style is really suitable for Chinese people." Ms. Zhang said that she will also share her 'New Chinese Style' clothing on the Internet, and get a lot of attention and praise.

A Chinese brand with the theme of "flowers" and the inspiration of peony appeared at New York Fashion Week in autumn and winter of 2024. Photographed by Li Rui, reporter of Xinhua News Agency

　　 Collision between traditional culture and fashion

From freehand brushwork to plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum; From cheongsam, Chinese tunic suit to horse face skirt, the "new Chinese style" clothing design elements are diverse and the style types are rich, integrating the profound Chinese cultural connotation into the "daily use without being aware of" daily wear.

Take the horse face skirt, a highly recognizable garment, for example. There are 4 skirt doors at the front and back, and the waist is closed with ties, giving a visual sense of beauty of "flying down". Meng Hui, a scholar of Chinese traditional material culture, introduced that the original basic skirt style of the horse face skirt appeared in the Song Dynasty, and the mature horse face skirt was formed in the Ming Dynasty. It was one of the most distinctive costumes of women's clothing in the Ming Dynasty. The horse face skirt continued to the early 20th century, and was decorated with various auspicious patterns. It is a kind of clothing with a long history. It can be said that the horse face skirt has gone through a long period of development and historical and cultural precipitation to form its present appearance. While maintaining the elegant and straight shape, the current horse face skirt has improved the traditional design, such as adding zippers, snap buttons and pockets, or improving the fabric organization and pleating process to make the horse face skirt machine washable, more suitable for the daily wear of modern people, while also reducing the hidden economic cost of cleaning and care.

As one of the traditional Chinese clothing, cheongsam is also a typical representative of the "new Chinese style" clothing. The cheongsam has beautiful lines and slim tailoring, which not only highlights the body shape, but also carries a rich cultural heritage. Today, on the basis of retaining the classic design, cheongsam integrates fashion elements, such as adding bubble sleeves, using lace fabrics, etc., to make it more in line with contemporary aesthetics.

In addition to traditional clothing styles, many traditional fabrics have also returned to the public's view, such as Xiangyun gauze. Xiangyun gauze is originally called "Rangsa". It is also called "Xiangyun gauze" because it makes a "rustling" sound when worn. The pure hand made fragrant cloud yarn is known as "soft gold" in the textile industry. In 2008, the dyeing and finishing technology of Xiangyun yarn was included in the national intangible cultural heritage list. Nowadays, Xiangyun gauze also has a more fashionable style, for example, it is matched with playful and bright colors to create the image of oriental women with hardness and softness.

"The 'new Chinese style' clothing style can be simple, complex, sweet and salty. It can be relaxed and casual, and it can also have a sense of etiquette. It reflects the Chinese temperament of modesty and elegance, and bursts into new vitality in modern design concepts." He Yang, a professor at Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, said that he hoped that young designers could think and study more about the spiritual aspects of traditional clothing and national clothing, The philosophy and humanity of the Chinese people are more reflected.

There is an Aiyuncang Hanfu Base in Ancialou Town, Caoxian County, Shandong Province. Liang Li, the designer, is designing an embroidery pattern for a horse dress. Photographed by Guo Xulei, reporter of Xinhua News Agency

　　 Enhance the sense of Chinese cultural identity

Bai Xiaoqing, an associate professor of Communication University of China, believes that the trend of "new Chinese style" has spread the aesthetic elements of Chinese excellent traditional culture, nourished the aesthetic interest of the public silently, and strengthened the internal identity of young people with Chinese culture. Compared with traditional Chinese clothing, the "new Chinese style" combines the modern aesthetics of Chinese people, and is more suitable for the practical needs of the public's daily clothing, decoration and other cultural consumption. It is the inheritance and innovation of Chinese excellent traditional culture.

Not long ago, Du Haijiang, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and secretary of the party committee of the Palace Museum, submitted a proposal on building a new era Chinese etiquette clothing system during the National Two Sessions. He believes that China has a profound cultural tradition of national costumes and valuable resources. We should focus on Chinese culture, build a new era etiquette clothing system that carries national culture, and shape the "national cultural image" through Chinese costumes.

At present, the "fire" of the "new Chinese style" has extended from clothing to home furnishing, beauty, catering and other fields, constantly exploring the rich mineral of Chinese excellent traditional culture, and innovative expression of oriental aesthetics. For example, Tongrentang, in combination with traditional health care and new consumption demand, introduced such drinks as medlar latte, siraito American coffee, Jiaoyan Chenpi Wuhong Soup, which not only attracted young consumers, but also made time-honored brands "trendy".

The popularity of "new Chinese style" is the "two-way rush" between consumers and traditional culture, and also a vivid manifestation of cultural consciousness and cultural self-confidence. The younger generation is more and more willing to take the excellent traditional Chinese culture as a way to express their attitudes, wear the traditional culture on their bodies, and integrate the traditional culture into their lives. (Zhang Yaoyu, Yang Yuqian)

(Source: People's Daily Overseas Edition)