China’s “Guo Chao” — A Reaction to Western Fashion
With the opening of China’s fake Supreme store to the growing popularity of gender-neutral clothing in China, it is clear that the urban Chinese population looks toward the West for fashion inspiration. The Westernization of Chinese fashion began in the early 20th century when wealthy Chinese families who traveled or sent their children to the United States for school brought Western fashion into China. Some of the earliest examples of Western clothing in China are the Western-style blazer, white doctor’s coats, and unpatterned women’s wear, all of which became the norm over time, replacing China’s traditional Hanfu and Qipao. After China’s economic reform in 1978, the open economy welcomed more Western fashion into China. Most recently, American brands like Nike, Adidas, Converse, and Supreme became popular among Chinese Gen-Z and millennials.
When China opened its economy to the world, Chinese companies looked outward for economic opportunities, thereby absorbing Western cultural influences and ignoring domestic cultural development. China’s economic growth in the last 40 years relied on its economic partnerships with America, becoming the world’s top manufacturer for American companies. During this time, Western companies saw opportunities to sell their products in China because Chinese people wanted to consume products and media coming from a technologically advanced country. Western culture flooded into Chinese people’s everyday lives in the form of fashion, film, music, etc. Known for their modern designs and quality, Nike and Adidas became household names in China starting in the 1980–90s. More recently, in 2017, the show “The Rap of China” brought American streetwear from underground to mainstream in China, with the judges wearing brands like Off-White, Supreme, Vetements, etc. (DaXue Consulting). Chinese fashion became known for its lack of originality and Western influence, most clearly demonstrated by their counterfeit Western streetwear market. Streetwear originated in urban American cities as a form of self-expression in opposition to mass-produced “mall styles” (Rebels Market). However, the rise of streetwear in China reflects the profit-driven business that it was trying to escape. During its modernization process, China’s overall increase in living standards created an economic-based culture of seeking modernity and status from material goods. Associating China with underdevelopment in the early years of foreign interactions, Chinese people favored Western products and culture, in turn, neglecting domestic cultural development, which has not brought them profit in the past.
American brands are widely accepted in China because they are associated with modernity. On the contrary, to many Western and Chinese consumers, clothing labeled “Made in China” is associated with China’s cheap manufacturing and less advanced economy. However, witnessing China’s rapid economic development and urbanization in recent years, many Chinese Gen-Z and millennials now take pride in their national identity and see China’s ability to produce quality fashion. The fashion movement “Guo Chao” (国潮), which translates to “country wave,” refers to young Chinese consumers rising acceptance of domestic brands. This movement took off after Chinese sportswear brand Li-Ning’s show at Paris Fashion Week in 2018 and embodies young Chinese people’s desire to embrace their country’s culture and history and dispel negative perceptions of “Made in China.”
Despite being a widely discussed topic among Chinese youth, Guo Chao fashion has not appealed to American consumers. The rising popularity of Chinese homegrown brands did not increase Americans’ interest in Chinese fashion because China needs to establish a stronger modern cultural identity before it can influence global trends.
In recent years, Chinese people who are used to seeing Western companies’ dominance in the Chinese market now see the opportunity to innovate by looking inward to their history and culture. Chinese “Jiu Ling Hou” (those born after 1990) who witnessed China’s transformation into a modern, high-tech country, now take pride in their country’s success, launching the shift from an exclusively outward-looking country to one that remembers its cultural heritage. The Guo Chao movement is Chinese Gen-Z’s reaction to China’s recent social changes.
New brands like Markknull and Fabric Porn seek inspiration from China’s grassroots class, combining traditional Chinese patterns and silhouettes with contemporary fashion. In Fabric Porn’s collection, models wear a pin with the logo of the Young Pioneers of China, a government-run organization founded in 1949 that most Chinese millennials and Gen-Z participated in during elementary and middle school. The oversized blazer and leather jacket are common in Chinese working class fashion. Fabric Porn designer Zhao Chen Xi says, “Most of Chinese culture hasn’t been discovered, many just see the China portrayed by Western media” (Kut). With his modern remake of “rural” fashion, designer Zhao Chen Xi attempts to showcase elements of Chinese culture that both China and the West have overlooked in the past.
INXX, a Chinese streetwear brand incorporates traditional Eastern elements with Western styles and aims to use streetwear to bring Chinese culture to the world (Inkstone). Their Han Dynasty-inspired 2021 Autumn collection combines a traditional Chinese painting-like pattern with a denim on denim look. In drawing inspiration from China’s history, Chinese brands show people that modern Chinese fashion is more than what the West gave us.
Although the message of Guo Chao is clear, some Guo Chao designers prioritize profit over promoting Chinese heritage. While it is true that Guo Chao builds Chinese cultural confidence, many brands mainly see this trend as an opportunity to profit from Chinese nostalgia. Although clothing brands like Markknull and Fabric Porn attempt to make rural fashion trendy, Chinese people who are actually from rural areas do not even know that these brands exist. This means that Guo Chao fashion is a trend that mostly targets urban city dwellers who can afford to support this subculture while maintaining their Western-influenced lifestyles. Additionally, due to the profit-driven nature of Guo Chao brands, including renowned brand Fei Yue who was accused of copying international designers, some millennials now criticize some Guo Chao, seeing it as a “rip off of global fashion trends that capitalizes on patriotic sentiment” (Luo). Along the same lines, the Chinese government’s support to construct heritage-style buildings is mostly profit-driven. For example, the government’s reconstruction of a historical building in Xi’an aimed to transform the area into a cultural and touristic area but did not pay attention to the conservation of this historic neighborhood (Bi). Some Guo Chao designers have a similar approach by capitalizing on Chinese heritage for profit.
It is certain that Guo Chao is changing domestic perceptions of “Made in China.” Brands like Fabric Porn and Li-Ning bridge the gap between modern and historical China. Guo Chao fashion clearly embodies the originality and national pride that Chinese fashion lacked before. However, if we want to change the Western perception of China and increase their interest in Chinese fashion, there needs to be a stronger Chinese narrative. To change the current profit-driven cultural revival into a people-based one, change needs to take place from the bottom up. By this, I mean Chinese people must discover a common cultural narrative and promote this narrative to the West through fashion rather than capitalize on different Chinese historical symbols for profit. Currently, Guo Chao brands lack a common narrative because China is culturally and ideologically diverse. China has 56 ethnic groups that each have distinct cultures. Their cultures are yet to be showcased in mainstream fashion, as many traditional ways of dress are replaced by Western fashion due to practicality and modernization. Many rural Chinese people now chase the “Chinese Dream,” which is to seek education and a job in one of China’s urban cities like Beijing or Shanghai, where Western influence is the strongest. There is still more social development that needs to take place before more Chinese people can take pride in their hometowns and stop chasing Western modernity.
Perhaps, there would’ve been increased interest in Chinese fashion since 2018 if the pandemic didn’t happen and people could travel to China to see Guo Chao for themselves. On the other hand, maybe Guo Chao is where it is at today because the pandemic gave China time to look inward instead of bringing in Western trends. Overall, Guo Chao fashion did not succeed in America because China still needs time to develop its own culture after decades of Westernization. When more Chinese people begin to identify with their cultural heritage and separate that identity from the Western aspects of their country, we may begin to see Guo Chao taking on the Western fashion market.
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- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCa_hr73YHk
- https://www-cambridge-org.libproxy1.usc.edu/core/journals/international-journal-of-cultural-property/article/cultural-heritage-development-in-china-a-contextualized-trajectory-or-a-globallocal-nexus/AA745C3FA8A9611C9B22D7D9B50302AE
- https://radiichina.com/china-designers-marrknull/
