China chic dominates graduation ceremonies

Founded in 2019, Hangzhou-based Double Seventh achieved sales revenues that ranked among the top three in the traditional Chinese attire online market. The store focuses on developing originally designed hanfu which is more suitable for daily wear. It is also considering the potential of opening brick-and-mortar stores in the future.

"I am highly optimistic about the growth prospects of the industry. Hanfu carries traditional Chinese culture and the government supports the development of related industry zones. We suffered losses from 2019 to 2022 due to the pandemic. Sales started to pick up in 2023 and jumped significantly this year," said Qing Yun, founder of Double Seventh.

The main customer group is aged between 18 and 25, and they are mainly young female consumers who like traditional Chinese attire. Most orders come from major cities in Zhejiang, Guangdong, Henan and Sichuan provinces; places that boast cultural relics and sightseeing spots which are suitable for wearing hanfu, Qing said.

He added that demand for red hanfu for engagement parties and weddings has been quite high. He expects the demand for such attire to increase in the latter half of this year, when it becomes the busy season of couples getting married.

From 2017 to 2023, sales of footwear and clothing of domestic brands that integrate Chinese cultural elements grew from 407.1 billion yuan to 992.8 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate reaching nearly 16 percent. The figure is significantly higher than the overall compound annual growth rate of footwear and clothing during the same period, according to consultancy Frost & Sullivan.

Guochao — national tide or China chic — is a broad concept that can be integrated with various consumer goods, cultural products, tourism, a city's image and other sectors. China-chic clothing is undoubtedly one of the first fields recognized and accepted by consumers, the consultancy said.

On the other hand, the rapid development of e-commerce platforms, especially the rise of livestreaming sessions, has provided good exposure and sales channels for emerging China-chic brands, the consultancy said.