The New Representations of Chinese Aesthetic: A Case Study of Four Chinese Fashion Brands

Fashion is widely recognized as a mirror of contemporary culture, as it not only reflects the socio-cultural conditions of the time but also shapes social preferences and lifestyle. Consequently, by determining the next lifestyle trends, fashion designers play a central role in this cultural production process. This paper focuses on four Chinese fashion designers and brands and their role in representing and reinterpreting Chinese culture through their collections. Our findings show that Chinese fashion designers have adapted various symbols from different subsets of Chinese heritage culture in their designs. At the same time, the contemporary Chinese fashion designers are taking an active role in recreating the representation and interpretation of Chinese culture through their design process. Through these four case studies, we identified four sources of aesthetic production and the mechanism of cultural production of Chinese aesthetic. Our study thus advances the current understanding on fashion and cultural heritage in the marketplace.

Keywords:Fashion design; Chinese design; Fashion branding; Cultural heritage; Case study; Aesthetics