After years of development, Hanfu is moving from a niche circle to the mass market and has become an important part of the national trend culture and national style economy. It not only provides new marketing ideas for tourism, photography and other industries, but also provides ancient style scripts, ancient costume banquets, etc. Immersive consumption focusing on Hanfu elements is in the ascendant.
This year’s “May Day” holiday, the immersive Tang-style street life district “Chang’an Twelve Hours” opened in Xi’an. Many tourists specially put on Tang-made Hanfu to watch Tang arts and listen to Tang arts Have fun and taste Tang food. Among the well-proportioned ancient buildings, with fluttering clothes and flying skirts, the beauty of Hanfu is eye-catching.
After years of development, Hanfu is moving from a niche circle to the mass market, becoming an important part of the national trend culture and national style economy. It not only provides new marketing ideas for tourism, photography and other industries, but also kills ancient style scripts. Immersive consumption featuring Hanfu elements, such as traditional Chinese costumes and banquets, is also in the ascendant.
The consumption of Hanfu is becoming more and more popular
“I used to wear Hanfu when walking on the street, and people often asked me where I was going to perform. Now more and more people recognize it as Hanfu. Few people can tell the dynasty and form.” Cao Xiaoyan, a garden landscape designer in Changzhi City, Shanxi Province, “got into” Hanfu as early as 2015. She deeply felt that in recent years, the national style culture represented by Hanfu has become popular in society. The acceptance of Hanfu continues to increase.
“I started by buying code-coded ready-made clothes. As I learned more about the shape and fabric of Hanfu, I started buying customized Hanfu and imported Hanfu.” Cao Xiaoyan introduced, “Incoming Hanfu is I buy the fabrics myself, draw the designs, and then find a tailor to make them. The cost of spring and summer Hanfu ranges from a few dozen yuan to three to four hundred yuan, and the autumn and winter Hanfu made of wool, cashmere and other fabrics are more expensive.”
In addition, Cao Xiaoyan will also buy some Hanfu items with original designs and complex craftsmanship, such as Hanfu made of gold woven fabrics, imitation flowers, chemical fiber and other fabrics. “The items are custom-made for me by merchants, and the price of each item is more than a thousand yuan.” Cao Xiaoyan said.
Zhao Jing, who comes from Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province, prefers Song Dynasty Hanfu and Ming Dynasty Hanfu made of cotton and linen. She said, “Hanfu made of silk, tapestry and other fabrics and craftsmanship are more delicate and require higher care methods and wearing scenarios. I prefer cotton and linen Hanfu that are easy to care for.”
Zhao Jing started buying Hanfu when she was in college. After working, she would buy 2 to 3 pieces of Hanfu every month, with the price ranging from 300 yuan to 600 yuan. “In addition to wearing Hanfu when gathering with friends, traveling or on holidays, I also mix and match Hanfu with ordinary clothes in my daily life.” Zhao Jing told reporters that she has more than 50 pieces of Hanfu, mostly purchased from e-commerce platforms.
As the Hanfu style in programs such as “National Treasure” has attracted attention, and the roly-poly lady wearing Hanfu has become popular, catalyzed and spread by social platforms, and with the help of e-commerce platforms Pushed down, Hanfu, which originally only existed in niche circles, is now moving towards daily life and the mass market, gaining the favor of more and more consumers.
On the Douyin platform, the total number of short videos labeled Hanfu has exceeded 68 billion times. According to the person in charge of Douyin, from January 2022 to now, the number of merchants selling Hanfu on the platform has increased by 239% compared with the same period last year. During the “Douyin Trend Oriental Season” event held from April 23 to May 4, Hanfu sales on the Douyin e-commerce platform increased by 312% year-on-year.
“The Hanfu consumer market is characterized by youthfulness, femininity and stratification, and Hanfu consumption behavior is polarized into interest-oriented collection consumption and casual one-time consumption.” Cultural Industry Management of Communication University of China Tian Hui, associate professor of the college, believes that as China’s excellent traditional culture radiates vitality and vitality of the times, Hanfu consumption awareness is getting higher and higher, and the market acceptance of Hanfu has expanded in breadth and depth.
Expressing cultural identity
“I fell in love with Hanfu at first because I just thought they were beautiful.” Zhao Jing said when recalling the reason why she “got into” Hanfu. Similar to many Hanfu enthusiasts, she was attracted by the exquisite Hanfu in costume TV series, and immediately began to understand the Hanfu culture and placed orders frequently.
The traditional Chinese culture carried by Hanfu is also what fascinates many consumers. Cao Xiaoyan believes that Hanfu is a clothing carrier that displays traditional culture. Ordinary people can intuitively feel its cultural charm and are willing to display and spread it in their lives.
“Hanfu consumption has the characteristics of a younger generation. As consumers grow up, they have witnessed the strengthening of national power. Their deep-rooted national pride and cultural identity have inspired their confidence and love for local brands. “Tian Hui said that young consumers pay more attention to self-expression. Hanfu not only satisfies young consumers’ love and expression of local culture, but also satisfies their deep-seated demands for personalization and acquisition of identity.
Hanfu enthusiasts call each other “Tongpao”, which comes from “How can I say no clothes? I share the same robe with my son”. They use Hanfu as a bond to make friends with similar interests and establish group identity.
Cao Xiaoyan told reporters that when she first “entered” Hanfu, Hanfu was a very niche hobby. She never met “comrades” and almost “quit”. “It wasn’t until the Qiqiao Festival in 2017 that I saw a recruitment post for the Hanfu event on a local Tieba, and met a group of like-minded partners, so I maintained my love for Hanfu.”
Guangzhou girl Liu Xueer also ” Encouraged by his colleagues, he quit his job as a clerk in his hometown company to start a business in Hangzhou, and founded Feng Shang Chuan in 2019.��Clothing design studio.
Liu Xueer told reporters that taking advantage of the east wind of Hanfu, she started her own business relatively smoothly. In September 2019, she launched the “Fengshang” brand’s first original design Ming Dynasty horse-faced skirt – tourmaline green swastika on Taobao. The earth spirit dog presents peach blossoms and looks at the moon in a gold woven skirt, priced at 1,188 yuan. “More than 500 pieces were sold that year, and it is still the ‘unavailable’ style on the second-hand trading platform.”
Since the store opened, “Fengshang” has launched more than 20 styles of Ming-made Hanfu. During the epidemic, On average, each model can maintain sales of more than 100 pieces.
It takes several months from the design and drawing of a Hanfu to factory proofing, revision and finalization, and then to the weaving factory to weave and dye the fabric. After it is put on the shelves for sale, it takes several months for tailors to start making the finished product. “The cost of designing a new model ranges from 30,000 to 100,000 yuan depending on the complexity of the process and the number of revisions. Custom weaving and dyeing of a batch of fabrics requires at least 200,000 to 300,000 yuan in working capital.” Liu Xueer said frankly. , the epidemic has brought certain pressure on capital flows.
When it comes to the future, Liu Xueer is very confident. “Hanfu, a kind of clothing that carries the aesthetics of traditional Chinese culture and national identity, is very popular among young people. It has gradually become a cultural phenomenon and an emerging industry that integrates fashion and tradition. I believe that more and more people will buy Hanfu in the future and engage in Merchants with original designs will have better development.”
Show elements of the times
With the rapid growth in the number and market size of Hanfu enthusiasts, the related consumer market has also ushered in a new era Develop new opportunities.
From Xitang Hanfu Culture Week, which has been held for 9 consecutive years, to Wuhan Happy Valley’s “National Style Dimension Festival Hanfu Appreciation of Spring” themed event, Beijing Huachao Hanfu Culture Festival, and many scenic spots With the announcement of “free admission for wearing Hanfu”, tourist attractions have become high-frequency usage scenarios of Hanfu, and the business of leasing or selling Hanfu has also become a “secondary consumption point” in many scenic spots.
Consumers are no longer satisfied with the check-in model of “Hanfu + photo taking”. For this reason, many travel companies have launched experiential projects with Hanfu as the core. In March this year, at a city-wide community event held by Mafengwo in Yuyuantan Park in Beijing, participants dressed in Hanfu and solved puzzles as “Flower Gods” during the Flower Festival, enjoying a “time-travel” experience while outing in the park. Various creative products not only contribute ticket revenue to scenic spots, but also revitalize the tourism market.
In addition to tourism, “Hanfu+” also brings new marketing ideas to beauty, fashion, wedding, catering, photography, etiquette training and other industries, including Hanfu photo shoots, Hanfu-themed script killing, Hanfu afternoon tea, etc. Immersive consumption focusing on Hanfu elements is in the ascendant.
Stylist Zhang Zhili has been in the makeup industry for 9 years, mainly engaged in makeup work for dance drama shooting, advertising shooting, personal portraits, and stage shows. In 2017, she transitioned from modern makeup to ancient style makeup.
“From design, makeup and hair to clothes and accessories, it takes about 2 hours to complete a complete set of ancient-style makeup, and the fee is about 2,000 yuan.” Zhang Zhili said that initially doing ancient-style makeup was a hobby As a result, it happened to catch up with the Hanfu boom, so the business was relatively smooth. Nowadays, the number of orders for ancient-style makeup in advertising shoots and personal portraits continues to grow, and events such as Hanfu catwalk shows in various places are becoming more frequent, and invitations to her makeup are being sent to her one after another.
This has put forward higher professional requirements for Zhang Zhili. “The makeup of the Han Dynasty was simple and grand, the makeup of the Tang Dynasty was graceful and luxurious, and the makeup of the Song Dynasty was restrained and elegant.” Zhang Zhili told reporters, “I learned about makeup by reading professional books, visiting museums, referring to murals and ancient paintings, and consulting experts. Try to be as close to history as possible and restore the character’s image. We hope that consumers can understand the long-standing traditional culture through a variety of ancient style makeup, so that traditional culture can be better implemented in daily life.”
“Breaking Circles” Hanfu The economy has allowed traditional culture to enter more consumption scenarios. “To maintain the long-term popularity of Hanfu and related consumption, innovative thinking and contemporary expression are needed, both in terms of the in-depth exploration of cultural connotations and the communication of cultural connotations, as well as the design, quality and even brand development of the products themselves.” Tian Hui believes that only by taking root in a deep understanding of cultural values, taking the elements of the times as the starting point, and resonating with the aesthetics and emotions of the target consumer groups can traditional culture obtain a consumption soil for sustainable development.
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