From Symbols to Spirit: Changing Conceptions of National Identity in Chinese Fashion

Abstract

This article explores the evolution of conceptions of national identity in contemporary Chinese fashion by analyzing Chinese designers and their work over the last thirty years. It focuses on the post-Mao years of “opening up and reform” since 1978 and draws evidence from a textual analysis of published reports and interviews with a selection of established and emerging designers. This study shows that contemporary Chinese fashion designers still hark to a notion of “Chineseness.” This invocation of an essential and identifiable “Chinese” quality is a result of China's nationalistic education curriculum but is also a mechanism by which Chinese fashion designers seek to gain rapid recognition and a distinctive place in the international community. This distinctive identity facilitates their competitiveness on the global fashion stage. This article shows that conceptions of national identity in Chinese fashion have evolved from the promotion of concrete “traditional Chinese” symbols to more amorphous ideas about “the Chinese spirit.” This spirit is manifest in two particular styles of recent years. First, the works of the “Zen” designers that seek to invoke “Oriental” ideas of peacefulness, calm, and harmony by adopting pale or neutral colors, natural fabrics, and naturally flowing shapes. Second, the designers that invoke images of “modern” China, either by sourcing inspiration from contemporary daily life or rejuvenating traditional Chinese elements with a modern look. This article argues that the evolution from the use of traditional Chinese symbols to the Chinese spirit within the fashion design world signifies a new form of Chinese nationalism: instead of delivering Chinese culture in an explicit, direct, and exterior form, Chinese designers have switched to convey their unique “Chineseness” in a subtle, indirect, and hidden form. Such evolution is a result of modernization, hybridization, and competition between the twin tensions of nationalism and globalization.