Beijing
In Caoxian County, Shandong Province, the largest production area of Hanfu in my country, online sales of Hanfu have reached 1.26 billion yuan since 2024.
"Oriental Outlook Weekly" reporter Wang Yang and editor Qin Liudi
On the evening of September 28, 2023, the 2023 Luoyang Heluo Cultural Tourism Festival and the 6th Central Plains International Cultural Tourism Industry Expo - Hanfu Fashion Design Week opened at Zhengda International Plaza in Luoyang, Henan
Horse-faced skirts, chest-high underskirts, hundred-fold skirts... Wearing Hanfu has become a popular choice in various scenarios such as checking in at scenic spots, wedding ceremonies, shopping, gatherings with friends and even square dancing. A new trend in public dress in recent years. The "Hanfu craze" continues to heat up, and the blending of tradition and new trends has activated cultural resources, ignited the consumer market, and driven industrial development.
In recent years, Hanfu has gradually become popular among young people. Their youthful expression and fashionable presentation have allowed traditional Chinese culture to enter daily life in a concrete form and tangible entity. Chinese traditional clothing culture has a long history. A piece of clothing that integrates Chinese aesthetics is not only a consumer choice, but also reflects the Chinese people's love for China's excellent traditional culture.
Supply exceeds demand
During the Spring Festival and Lantern Festival of the Year of the Dragon, the “Free Tour to Three Kongs in Chinese Clothes” activity is very popular in Qufu City, Jining, Shandong Province. Wang Chunling, a tourist from Liaoning, traveled thousands of miles to visit this place with her friends. She was attracted by the lively atmosphere of Qufu Ancient City Night Tour and Folklore Tour, and she put on Hanfu to join the parade.
Since this year, Hanfu such as horse-faced skirts have almost become standard for taking photos and checking in at popular attractions. A reporter from "Oriental Outlook Weekly" saw a crowd of tourists wearing Hanfu and hairpins in Xuanpu Village, Fengze District, Quanzhou City, Fujian Province during the Spring Festival. In this internet-famous fishing village, tourists rent Hanfu, put on make-up, and have their hair styled at scenic spots. They follow the photographer’s instructions and pose in various poses. They check in at Oyster Shell House, Shunji Palace, and Fisherman’s Wharf, and beautiful pictures are instantly produced. .
"Dear, this is the new horse-faced skirt that has just been launched. I will put it on and show it to everyone in a while.one time. "There are all sizes for adults, and there are many styles for children. I will show them to you soon!" "3, 2, 1, link up!" "...
Walking into the live broadcast room of Qifeng Clothing Co., Ltd. located in Daji Town, Cao County, Heze City, Shandong Province, the anchor Zhao Hui was very busy. She said that during the Spring Festival that just passed, there were many Hanfu costumes in the local area. Because of the hot market conditions, the store does not take a break and carries out live broadcasts every day.
“I can sell three to four hundred orders every day for three hours, with sales exceeding 90,000 yuan. Because fabrics and production are not in supply, we can’t get so much goods, and we don’t dare to live broadcast for a longer period of time. "Zhao Hui said.
The market supply exceeds demand, and the "Hanfu craze" has caused industry practitioners like Zhao Hui to encounter "happiness troubles." When the reporter visited Caoxian County, he saw that many tourists came here to buy them. Various New Year clothes, Hanfu, and performance clothes. As the inventory is cleared, some consumers even go directly to the exhibition hall to buy the display clothes on the models.
In Caoxian County, Shandong, the largest production area of Hanfu in my country, Hanfu Online has been open since 2024. Sales have reached 1.26 billion yuan. Zhang Longfei, director of the Cao County E-commerce Service Center, said that local Hanfu online sales in 2023 were 7.215 billion yuan, an increase of 44.3%, and the total online and offline sales exceeded the 10 billion yuan mark, accounting for 40% of the country's total. Above.
There are many supports behind the popularity of Hanfu in Cao County. Zhang Longfei said that Cao County had a weak industrial base and was once the largest county in labor export. More than ten years ago, some villagers in Daji Town tried to produce photo studio services. , performance clothes and other special clothing, but the market share is limited.
The change originated from the rise of the e-commerce economy in 2009. Villagers listed these cheap and high-quality clothing on online stores and inadvertently opened this store. The door to the booming industry. Since then, Daji Town has become the first batch of "Taobao Towns" in the country, and all 32 administrative villages have been rated as "Taobao Villages".
Driving by the market conditions, it is famous for the production and sales of performance costumes. Caoxian County has fully shifted to the production of Hanfu. Hu Chunqing, head of Caoxian Chenfei Clothing Co., Ltd. and president of Caoxian Hanfu Association, said that thanks to more than ten years of development of the performance costume industry, Caoxian County has formed a sophisticated and complete market division of labor based on families. Within a 5-kilometer radius of Daji Town, Ancailou Town and surrounding towns, all supporting processes for Hanfu production, including pattern making, fabric making, cutting, printing, sewing, and ready-made garments, are gathered.
Industrial clusters in towns and villages have achieved success. Caoxian Hanfu has the advantages of low cost and fast delivery. “This asset-light entrepreneurial model can be used by everyone as long as they dare to think and dare to do it. " Yan Deyin, one of the earliest practitioners of Hanfu in Ancailou Town, said that more than ten people in his team have opened independent stores and started businesses, "which is equivalent to training a dozen bosses."
With the influx of orders, , new supporting technologies and new production capacities such as digital printing and high-speed embroidery have begun to open here. In the past two years, new stores have sprung up. There are currently more than 100 digital printing factories in Daji Town, Ancailou Town and surrounding towns. Cao County has more than 2,000 upstream and downstream Hanfu companies and more than 10,000 online stores.There are nearly 100,000 employees.
In the past, Hanfu was a niche product, with many selling for more than a thousand yuan. Nowadays, a set of Hanfu in Caoxian County ranges from 100 yuan to 300 yuan, which meets the price demand of students and young people for Hanfu.
Top hot models
Big data from multiple e-commerce platforms show that the search volume for Hanfu has skyrocketed since January this year, and horse-faced skirts have become The most popular item in the Hanfu category. Why has the horse-faced skirt become the most popular Hanfu style and is regarded as the "New Year shirt" by netizens?
The horse-faced skirt, also known as the "horse-faced pleated skirt", developed from the spiral skirt of the Song Dynasty, and formed a horse-faced skirt with a relatively fixed structure in the Ming Dynasty. There are four skirt doors at the front and rear, each of which overlaps. The sides are pleated, and the skirt door in the middle overlaps to form a smooth surface, commonly known as "horse face". As a functional skirt originally designed for travel convenience, the horse-faced skirt combines beauty and practical function.
In 2023, horse-faced skirts have become a popular category of Hanfu. "In 2023, it is obvious that the market demand for horse-faced skirts has begun to rise. Signs began to appear after the Spring Festival in 2023. Chenfei Clothing increased the production of horse-faced skirts to more than 30% in June and July 2023. Now this The number has increased to 40% to 50%. "Hu Chunqing said that in anticipation of the development momentum of horse-face skirts, the company has created a separate brand for the horse-face skirt category at the end of 2022 to produce children's clothing and adult horse-face skirts. "Tongluo Bay".
In addition to external driving factors such as Spring Festival Gala dress demonstrations, celebrity effect, and short video dissemination, industry insiders believe that good looks and good wear are the primary reasons why many consumers choose horse-face skirts. “Western-style skirts are pretty standard, but wearing a horse-faced skirt gives you a stunning feeling.” Zhao Hui talked about the production process, “Every horse-faced skirt we sell has at least woven gold, silver, makeup, and emerald green. The patterns are made by more than 5 kinds of crafts, such as embroidery and embroidery. When people wear it, the patterns shine brightly in the sun, making them look stylish and dazzling in the crowd. "
In multiple Hanfu exhibition halls in Caoxian County, our reporter saw that horse-faced skirts are rich in colors and have hundreds of styles. The patterns on the skirt doors and edges are even more diverse, including lotus flowers, which symbolize purity and purity, and lotus flowers, which symbolize purity and purity. There are many traditional patterns such as pomegranates and grapes showing fertility and good fortune, and lilies symbolizing a hundred years of good union. The salesperson said that when everyone puts on the horse-faced skirt, it is equivalent to integrating traditional crafts such as tapestry, gold weaving, and mother-of-pearl into one body, as if they have close contact with intangible cultural heritage skills.
The horse-faced skirt reflects the inclusiveness of Hanfu. "Wear it casually when commuting, shopping, or traveling. You can wear it casually with shirts and knitted coats. You can choose any shape or price." Yao Chixing, the person in charge of Luo Ruyan Original Hanfu, a Hanfu company in Caoxian County, often praises it when introducing horse-faced skirts to customers.
In Yao Chixing’s eyes, the highly adaptable and cost-effective horse-faced skirt is not only a fashion item for celebrities and fashion bloggers, but also a way for ordinary people to experience the national style trend and have a classic temperament. A versatile choice.” "historyFashion, trends and culture, life and beauty are all in a horse-faced skirt. ”
From the perspective of the physical characteristics of the clothing, experts believe that the horse-faced skirt has the basic elements of public dress. “The style of the horse-faced skirt itself is closer to modern daily life, making it more wearable and Wider dissemination. The horse-face skirt has a simple design and basically does not waste materials. With the assistance of current professional machines, it can be produced quickly, making it easier for production companies to launch it quickly. " said Li Jie, executive member of the Academic Working Committee of the China Fashion Designers Association and dean of the Fashion School of Shandong University of Arts and Crafts.
On July 6, 2023, at the Aiyuncang Hanfu Base in Ancailou Town, Cao County, Shandong Province, designer Liang Li was designing the embroidery pattern for the horse-faced skirt (Photo by Guo Xulei)
Towards daily life
Standing on Torch Eighth Street, an Internet celebrity attraction in Weihai, Shandong, pedestrians can overlook the vast expanse of blue sea and enjoy the beautiful scenery. fundus.
In order to further meet the needs of tourists and enhance the tourism experience of Torch Eighth Street, the Weihai Municipal Government plans to launch a series of cultural and creative products with Weihai characteristics, among which is the specially designed horse-faced skirt, which will be available to tourists in the future Rent, sell, and become a "check-in shirt."
The person responsible for the design of the horse-faced skirt is Dishang Group Co., Ltd., a large-scale local clothing company in Weihai. "In recent years, as professional designers, we have clearly felt that society's clothing aesthetics have shifted towards the excellent traditional Chinese culture. The new national clothing trend represented by the 'Hanfu craze' marks that traditional clothing is moving into the daily lives of Chinese people and represents the young people. We also actively integrate Hanfu elements and traditional cultural elements into our clothing design, which is welcomed by the market," said Wang Shuai, design director of Shandong Dishang Professional Workwear Group.
The emergence of Hanfu shows the influence of traditional Chinese culture. Several Hanfu sales anchors told reporters that last year, the majority of Hanfu buyers were Hanfu enthusiasts and "exquisite ladies." This year, the number of consumers of all ages is increasing, and children regard Hanfu as a choice to "wear new clothes in the New Year." , square dancing aunts also use Hanfu as "team uniforms", and even some men will buy Hanfu for friends or themselves.
AtAccording to Chen Long, brand manager of Shanhe Jinxiu Hanfu Design Center, who has a background in fashion design, new Chinese clothing, including Hanfu, is on the rise of development, and traditional Chinese clothing is completing the process of modernization. The combination of traditional aesthetics and contemporary aesthetics makes the revival of Hanfu inevitable. After their material life is gradually satisfied, people's spiritual needs for national culture continue to rise, and their cultural confidence continues to increase. "There is a saying in our industry: cultural confidence, clothing first."
In addition to the highly sought-after national trend of Hanfu, in recent years, many new things with traditional cultural symbolism are taking different looks and forms. public life. "Cooking tea around the fire" has become popular at gatherings, "Baduanjin" has become a tip for keeping fit and nourishing the mind, filigree enamel and other cultural relic patterns have become one of the most popular styles of manicure, and "intangible cultural heritage, cultural creativity, and national style" are becoming It has become the collective hobby of the younger generation... The fusion of tradition and contemporary style is appearing among Chinese people in a "confident style". As netizens said: "The traditional Chinese genes in the body have 'awakened'."
In the eyes of scholars, the "Hanfu craze" is precisely an opportunity to promote the creative transformation and innovative development of China's excellent traditional culture. Li Jie believes that traditional culture that has lasted for thousands of years can return to life and daily life and shine with the glory of the times, which is inseparable from new interpretations, new creations, and new narratives. It is necessary to make good use of new technologies and new methods to deeply explore the vitality of traditional culture, give traditional culture development momentum in the process of reform and innovation, so that it can be better integrated with modern production and life, and create more historical temperaments and the flavor of the times. Cultural wonders.
