Traditional Attire Sparks a New “Blue Ocean” in Industry
Across the nation, tourists donning Hanfu, Qipao, and traditional skirts are a common sight at scenic spots; thriving travel photography and makeup shops cater to their needs. On the streets, young men and women frequently sport “new Chinese-style” clothing. E-commerce platforms are experiencing explosive growth in the sales of traditional garments, with a notable surge in active merchants. In recent years, clothing that embodies Chinese cultural elements and traditional characteristics has emerged as a new highlight in the consumer market. According to the latest data, China’s “national trend” economy is projected to reach 2.05 trillion yuan in 2023, an increase of 9.44% year-over-year. The Hanfu market alone is witnessing continuous growth, expected to reach 14.47 billion yuan in 2023 and potentially soar to 24.18 billion by 2027.
In light of the consumer enthusiasm surrounding traditional attire, how can the garment industry tap into this vast blue ocean? We spoke with industry players across various regions.
Cao County Hanfu Industry: Riding the Wave of County-Level Economic Growth
When it comes to Hanfu, one cannot overlook Cao County in Heze, Shandong Province. Remarkably, one in every three Hanfu sold in the country originates from this area, showcasing the vibrant vitality of its Hanfu industry and successfully elevating the county’s profile on a national scale.
The innovative “Cao County model” combines e-commerce and theatrical costumes. At the dawn of the 21st century, local villagers began producing props for studios and costumes during their downtime. As the e-commerce boom unfolded, they leveraged online channels to sell garments and connect with clients, gradually establishing Cao County as the largest performance costume processing hub in the country. As of July 2024, the county boasts 21 Taobao towns, 18,181 Taobao villages, making it the second-largest Taobao village cluster in the nation.
Huchunqing, the president of the Cao County Hanfu Association and founder of Chenfei Apparel, holds a Ph.D. in materials processing from Dalian University of Technology and has witnessed the transformation of Cao County’s apparel industry firsthand. In 2014, he and his wife returned home to start a business focused on e-commerce, primarily selling children’s jazz dance costumes. With a decline in performance costume orders and the rise of the “national trend,” they shifted their focus to Hanfu, launching a Hanfu workshop in 2020. The initial transition was challenging, but they steadily accumulated knowledge in Hanfu culture and business management. Today, they have designed over 560 Hanfu styles, obtained 320 original artistic copyrights, and achieved annual sales of 30 million yuan, creating over 1,000 jobs.
As the popularity of Hanfu continues to skyrocket, more businesses like Chenfei Apparel are seizing the opportunity to pivot. Currently, Cao County is home to 2,524 Hanfu companies, 14,718 online stores, and 206 offline experience shops, employing nearly 100,000 individuals in the industry, fostering a concentrated industrial cluster within a five-kilometer radius—from dyeing to cutting to finished garment production—forming a complete supply chain and brand incubation system.
With both momentum and a strong foundation in place, how can the Hanfu industry maintain its growth? According to Huchunqing, there’s a need for enhanced marketing and promotion of Hanfu, along with ongoing product updates, especially in design. He shared that last year, their team created a Warring States robe, reviving and improving elements based on historical records while aligning colors with modern aesthetics. The product garnered widespread attention upon its release.
Chen Long, the principal of Shanhua Beautiful Design Company, also established his business in Cao County this spring, aiming to empower the Hanfu industry with innovative design. “Currently, we’ve established deep collaborations with more than ten Hanfu companies, covering roughly 80% of the local leading firms,” he said. The industry gathering provides Cao County’s Hanfu with a cost-effective advantage, transforming it into a haven for designers. “As a design firm, we aim to respect history while merging it with modern aesthetics and demands, creating various styles and functionalities of Hanfu tailored to different age groups, making traditional clothing more relevant in daily life and effectively promoting and preserving our cultural heritage.”
The flourishing Hanfu industry is not only boosting the income of its practitioners but also making significant contributions to Cao County’s GDP—ranking first in Heze City for three consecutive years from 2021 to 2023. “Moving forward, the county will concentrate on market demands and consumer trends to expand and upgrade the Hanfu industry, ensuring that Hanfu serves as a cultural link between tradition and modernity, history and the future,” a county representative indicated.
Lun Jiao Xiang Yun Sha Industry: Setting Standards for Healthy Industry Growth
In Shunde, Guangdong Province’s Pearl River Delta, the dyeing and finishing techniques of Xiang Yun Sha have been passed down for more than a century. Designated as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2008, Lun Jiao Street in Shunde is the core production area for Xiang Yun Sha. How can such a richly distinctive traditional textile further expand its market reach? What measures are necessary for the sustainable and healthy development of this industry?
Practitioners in the Xiang Yun Sha sector have their own answers: leadership through standards and innovation as the priority.
Originally known as “Lang Sha,” Xiang Yun Sha is referred to as “soft gold” due to its complex and meticulous production process, which includes “three soaks, six boils, and eighteen sun-dryings” just in the dyeing process. “As a primarily handmade industry, establishing standards is crucial,” says Zhou Xiaogang, president of the Lun Jiao Xiang Yun Sha Association.
From being recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage to riding the wave of the “new Chinese-style” fashion trend, the Xiang Yun Sha industry has experienced rapid growth while also facing challenges such as negative perceptions due to subpar products. Initiating a local standard for Xiang Yun Sha has established regulations concerning materials, environment, and craftsmanship, ensuring that the fabric meets modern clothing requirements for qualities like tearing strength and colorfastness, ultimately enhancing product quality.
With quality on the rise, innovation remains vital.
“In recent years, the fabrics produced in the Xiang Yun Sha workshops have evolved in terms of color, patterns, and prints, providing designers and manufacturers more choices and aligning product offerings with the interests of young consumers,” Zhou explained. The incorporation of mud-coating machines has eased labor burdens, allowing for more stable fabric production; utilizing sunny weather to create lighter fabrics has also extended production periods.
“The current market demands a delicate and youthful approach to Xiang Yun Sha apparel. Therefore, our designs blend traditional elements with modern aesthetics, exemplified by our Twelve Zodiac series dresses, which have been well-received,” shared Lin Hui, executive vice president of the China Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Fashion Association (Macau) and founder of Xiang Zhuang Xiang Yun Sha. Today’s Xiang Yun Sha garments offer a wider variety of styles, incorporating materials like Song Jin and Shu Jin, and employing renowned embroidery techniques, such as Guang embroidery and Su embroidery, combined with modern design elements like flowing fabrics and tassels, ensuring that Xiang Yun Sha remains conventional yet visually appealing in contemporary life.
Currently, Xiang Zhuang Xiang Yun Sha employs over a hundred artisans with an annual output value of approximately 30 million yuan, quadrupling from its initial phase. Their commitment extends beyond domestic borders, as they’ve promoted Xiang Yun Sha globally, partnering with national art foundations to engage in initiatives across Italy, Russia, and five other countries. Furthermore, they showcased their creations at the 31st World University Summer Games in Chengdu and received acclaim at the Silk Road International Fashion Week with their themed clothing collection, “Dragon Treading a Thousand Paths, Phoenix Singing and Seeking.”
“The legacy of Xiang Yun Sha dyeing and finishing techniques spans centuries, making its journey toward industrialization a notable achievement,” Zhou remarked. Xiang Yun Sha practitioners must focus on documenting, passing down, and innovating their craft, while also supporting and nurturing young talent within the industry to ensure an enduring foundation for its sustainable growth.
Hankou North Market: Opening New Markets for Han-style Clothing through Livestreaming
The Jinye Supply Chain Selection Center joined the Hankou North Brand Clothing City Live Streaming Supply Chain Base in 2019. Chen, the manager, has spent over 30 years in the apparel industry, having opened stores and established her own clothing factory. Previously, her original brand, developed, produced, and sold independently, gained strong popularity among young adults, with direct stores spanning over 50 sizable malls across Hubei Province and more than 500 nationwide agents.
As traditional online platforms gained traction, she was among the first in her field to launch multiple online accounts to expand her reach. During the pandemic in 2020, she quickly adapted by opening a livestream account, leveraging her extensive experience in the clothing industry to transition into the supply chain sector.
She believes that the initial benefits of traditional e-commerce channels have diminished, making it essential for clothing businesses to embrace new supply chain models and reassemble their digital strategies. After establishing herself in Hankou North, she utilized the area’s strong market influence and comprehensive livestreaming services to create the Jinye Apparel Supply Chain Selection Center, providing Han-style clothing for various streaming platforms and becoming a pivotal force behind the revival of Han-style fashion, successfully transforming from a “traditional clothing trade service provider” into a “digital supply chain platform for the apparel industry.”
In recent years, Han-style fashion has continually evolved, creatively melding Han embroidery with elements of Chu culture, appealing to a growing number of young customers.
In 2023, one of the most influential discount suppliers for Han-style clothing, Huipin Brand Garment Supply Chain Company, also made its way to Hankou North Brand Clothing City, establishing a 2,000-square-meter livestream supply chain showroom, further embedding itself in the e-commerce ecosystem.
With its own manufacturing facilities and design teams, Huipin has consistently enhanced its original designs and cultural depth over more than a decade, weaving in Eastern aesthetics and the “national trend” culture, elevating the fashionable appeal of Han-style clothing, while collaborating with numerous fashion brands and serving more than 3,000 downstream buyers across the nation.
The Hankou North Livestream Supply Chain Base spans 300,000 square meters, housing nearly 200 clothing supply chain enterprises and more than 200 permanent hosts, including over 10 million-level anchors. It capitalizes on the largest single-unit clothing wholesale market in Central China, forging a textile and apparel supply chain platform that weaves a complete industrial chain, connecting networks across the country.
“The fabric of this garment is incredibly soft; you deserve to have it!” “All items are available for immediate sale at affordable prices; first come, first served!” The brand clothing city’s livestream base operates 24/7, with hosts introducing their products to viewers through e-commerce platforms. Outside the streaming rooms, merchants bustle about, pushing carts filled with garments, scanning and packaging items for delivery nationwide.
These bustling, well-equipped livestream rooms alongside well-established supply chain businesses and vendors not only reflect the digital transformation of traditional clothing companies but also represent an exploration of new developmental directions within the fashion industry. The deep integration of physical apparel enterprises with the digital economy is contributing to Hankou North’s aim of creating a “trillion-level market online and offline.”
