For a period of time, various traditional clothing elements have entered daily life in the name of "new Chinese style", attracting a wave of people and setting off a fashion wave. Some scholars believe that the new Chinese costume is a vivid expression of traditional culture in the present, and behind its popularity is the reflection of increasing cultural self-confidence. Indeed, the new Chinese costume is moving to the world stage with its unique charm and connotation, representing the unique charm and profound heritage of Chinese traditional culture, and becoming an important carrier to show the cultural self-confidence of the Chinese nation and the soft power of the country.
However, in the new Chinese marketing exploration, individual brands have suffered frequent setbacks. Even some product designs that collage Hanfu elements at random have caused a lot of controversy.
So, riding on the general trend, why does the new Chinese style fly higher and make the trend not a flash in the pan? This requires new Chinese clothing designers to take into account the excavation of cultural connotation, conform to fashion aesthetics, and strictly control product quality in the creative transformation and innovative development practice of excellent traditional Chinese culture, so as to provide continuous and stable high-quality output for the shaping of new Chinese clothing design aesthetics.
The explosion of new Chinese style, represented by horse face skirts, is a common choice for consumers and producers
In the new Chinese fashion trend, some clothing items attract the attention of consumers. The horse-faced skirt is one of the trendy clothing categories, which has driven the production and sales of enterprises. So, why has the horse-faced skirt become the new favorite of fashion? When it comes to the reasons for the popularity of horse-faced skirts, the reasons can be found in the transformation of consumption characteristics and lifestyles in the new era.
In the past five years, the global economy and consumer market conditions have undergone profound changes. This prompts people to take the initiative to update and transform traditional lifestyles and values. People begin to rethink their own way of life and re-establish their "schema" of life, life and life. The increasingly rational consumption, the evolution of consumption platforms, the transformation of consumption themes and the innovation of consumption preferences are the new characteristics of people's consumption transformation in recent years, and at the same time, they have a deep logical relationship with each other, reflecting the changes in popular culture, social structure and personal choices faced by people in the field of consumption. One of the top five trends among Chinese consumers summarized in the 2023 China Consumer Insights Report released by Morketing Research is "local recognition": "Chinese consumers are giving preference to products whose culture, design, and concepts are closer to local habits."
Under this major consumer trend, it is no accident that among so many traditional Chinese costumes, only the horse-faced skirt was "chosen".
First of all, from the perspective of style, compared with other traditional clothing, the horse-faced skirt has a simple style, simple structural design, and is easy to wear, and the skirt waist can also be adjusted through the control of the amount of skirt folds, which is suitable for people of various body types. In addition, due to the richness of its patterns and colors, it can be matched with modern clothing. Through the matching with various modern clothing, it can be deduced or dignified and exquisite, or smart and elegant, or subtle and introverted, light and graceful beauty, which is not only suitable for daily commuting, but also meets the needs of modern consumers for important occasions. It can be seen that the horse face skirt has the perfect combination of practicality and aesthetics.
Secondly, simple cutting is easier for manufacturers to produce, which can save costs. Its production can rely on the pattern and color of the fabric itself to highlight various styles, so manufacturers can quickly produce a variety of horse face skirt types.
Thirdly, as a modern popular "ancient costume" carrier, the horse face skirt has low technical barriers and high innovation in "restoration", which not only reflects traditional culture but also conforms to contemporary aesthetics. Blend traditional Chinese elements with modern fashion design and mix and match into a new trend. On the one hand, the horse-faced skirt can be paired with a traditional Chinese top to create a classical charm; On the other hand, it can also be paired with modern style clothing to show a sense of style. For example, a simple white shirt paired with a brightly colored horse-faced skirt can retain the classic beauty of the horse-faced skirt while adding a modern touch. Whether it is solemn and elegant on formal occasions, relaxed on casual occasions, or national characteristics on special occasions, horse-faced skirts can become clothing that shows personal taste and cultural heritage with its unique style and connotation.
Under the popular trend of "new Chinese style", horse face skirts are a common choice for consumers and producers.
"Scenic clothing" can no longer meet the aesthetic fashion and cultural attitude of the new era
In the current field of consumption, the dominant characteristics of user demand are becoming more and more clear, and what consumption brings is no longer just the satisfaction of basic survival needs, but a symbolic stimulus to achieve self-identity. In the context of modern society, the pursuit of cultural taste has become an important symbolic connotation in people's daily life. Many young people are gradually giving up on big brands in their product selection, and instead turning to some relatively "niche" "efficacy" products. They not only demand the use value of goods, but also regard consumption as a process of pursuing spiritual satisfaction, pursuing unique taste, and seeking more experience. The most obvious development feature of the contemporary consumption concept is the transition of the main demand from use value to identity, from basic life to high-quality experience.
Because, the embodiment of fashion products is no longer only a practical material existence, but a living activity artwork with art appreciation value and personality temperament. Fashion has also become an essential part of people's lives. It can even be said that fashion has become a concept and a social attitude at the moment, which invisibly shapes everyone's personal image and style. Therefore, if you want to be competitive in the fashion field, you must perceive the changes of the times and consumers with a sensitive sense of smell, quickly understand the core needs of consumers, find out the motivation for change hidden in people's unconscious, tap the potential cultural value that has not yet emerged, and show people's dreams in advance that have not yet been realized. This is a necessary condition to lead the fashion and become a fashion leader.
The essence of fashion is change. Excellent design should combine the essence of traditional clothing with contemporary design concepts, adapt to the changes of the times with flexible design thinking and positive adaptability, creatively use traditional clothing elements, and develop traditional clothing culture with the aesthetic consciousness of contemporary people, so as to make it a shared wealth for all mankind, and actively serve the country's soft power promotion and cultural prosperity. The times require designers to improve their cultural quality and artistic taste, explore and tap the potential of artistic expression, so as to reflect and improve people's spiritual yearning. The breadth and profundity of Chinese traditional clothing has brought many valuable inspirations to today's fashion art design, and will also be the foundation for Chinese fashion brands and Chinese clothing culture to go global.
To achieve such a goal, we must first find out the connection point between excellent traditional culture and modern life, inherit it in innovation, and promote traditional culture in development. Designers should reposition the aesthetic value of traditional culture in the contemporary vision, integrate it with the new cultural scenes and life needs in modern society, and complete the task of design innovation.
The design works of an era are produced in the context of the social, economic, cultural and lifestyle of the time. People no longer passively change themselves to cater to the fashion, but in the process of pursuing comfort and nature, they emphasize multi-scene, multi-channel, and multi-content compound consumption. For example, the so-called "scenic clothing" designed with elements such as placket, buckle, and embroidery based on improved Hanfu can no longer meet the aesthetic fashion and cultural attitude of the new era. Under the new model of "experiential consumption", Chinese patterns, fragrant cloud yarn, and Chinese vests in traditional clothing are becoming popular design elements among young people. These new Chinese clothing has become the daily clothing of consumers, through the matching of various clothing with consumers' own clothing, they are constantly innovated, highlighting their personality and expressing their views, and at the same time becoming a symbol of aesthetics and quality, while meeting the diversified aesthetic needs of consumers and the image needs of various occasions, bringing consumers a sense of achievement and joy. In this way, these new Chinese styles, colors, fabrics, patterns, and categories show the fashion accomplishment of consumers and the aesthetic value of traditional culture.
Secondly, designers should dig deep into the creative wisdom of their predecessors, especially on the basis of popular traditional clothing designs and products, implement the traditional Chinese design concept of "people-oriented", awaken more "horse face skirts", and make traditional culture endless.
Chinese traditional clothing culture has a long history, and has its own characteristics in various periods of historical development, with unique quality and style, and continues to innovate in inheritance. What remains unchanged is that traditional Chinese design emphasizes the concept of human-centered design. Focus on starting from the perspective of people, fully consider people's needs and feelings, and pursue the humanization of design. This practical-oriented design concept pays attention to people's habits, aesthetic tastes and cultural backgrounds, and strives to create design works that meet the needs of human nature, reflecting the deep understanding and pursuit of human care and the deep understanding and respect for the essence of life of the ancients.
In ancient Chinese design, practicality and decoration are not two opposite sides, but integrate and promote each other. Designers are good at adding decorative elements on a practical basis, which not only meets people's basic needs, but also provides the enjoyment of beauty. This harmonious and unified design concept reflects the unique insights and pursuit of beauty of the ancients. In the traditional Chinese creation culture, "making the best use of things" and "making good use of things" is to design utensils according to the needs of life and users, which is the idea of pursuing the combination of practicality and innovation, and the embodiment of the creation idea and design wisdom of the perfect combination of practicality and aesthetics.
Take the horse-faced skirt as an example, its structural design is simple, the skirt waist and skirt of the pleated skirt are made with multiple pieces of whole fabric folded and seamed, almost not cut, emphasizing that the material should be "made the best use", condensing the creation idea of "less cutting", and paying attention to the "integrity" of the fabric. But it can still be worn in a variety of styles and aesthetics through gorgeous colors, rich patterns, and a variety of tops.
Today, when history and the future are connected, contemporary art has gone from pure imagination and sourceless water to the product of re-examination and reflection of history. Fashion innovation comes from inheritance, and the loyalty of excellent designers to tradition is by no means the same as simple retro and imitation, nor is it an out-of-context interpretation of a traditional visual symbol. Designs that carry cultural messages may seem avant-garde, but they are often in line with traditional design. To promote the beauty of the nation, it is necessary to accurately interpret the traditional culture, explore the spirit of the traditional culture, and seek the fundamental design philosophy; Fashion is needed to "activate" tradition, develop traditional clothing culture with high quality, and make traditional Chinese cultural symbols such as horse-faced skirts vividly reflected in modern society and glow with new brilliance.
Text: Zhang Shunai (Associate Professor, School of Fashion and Art Design, Donghua University)
Editor: Fan Xin