'New Chinese style' enriches brands, goods, life

Fashion, furniture, architecture, lifestyle, home decor ... all gaining from increasing use of cultural elements

On Xiaohongshu, a lifestyle-focused social media platform in China, a search for "new Chinese style" could produce over 4 million results, mostly user posts. That number assumes remarkable significance when you find out it is double the number of results for a similar search for European and US styles that were the rage in China once upon a time.

For the younger generation, at a time when traditional culture is becoming popular, "new Chinese style" is akin to a national badge — worthy of being discovered, worn proudly, taken seriously, encouraged and patronized.

Be it fashion, home furniture, architecture, coffee, tea or weddings, every conceivable field is now being enriched by "Chinese style" — a reflection of growing confidence in local culture and its potential to infuse vitality into anything in a way that can be monetized.

"The origin of the 'new Chinese style' is the younger generation's fascination and love for traditional culture. Because of young people's unique understanding and bold imagination of Chinese culture, 'China-Chic' is now a trend that has gone global. The new wave of Oriental aesthetics is sweeping the world," said Hua Hui, associate professor of the School of Media & Communication at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.