Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, stems from a century-old tale about a lion-esque monster, terrorizing the villagers of China. Legend has it that the families of the village would ward off the monster each night by banging loud drums and setting off firecrackers. These measures were ultimately successful, protecting the villagers from the evil creature. Thus began the ritual that became synonymous with the celebration of the new year.
Nowadays, the holiday aligns with the first new moon in the lunar calendar and changes year to year based on the moon’s orbit. Chinese New Year, much like American New Year’s celebrations, is a period of renewal and reflection rung in with family members and loved ones. In honor of tradition, it is still celebrated with those same drums, firecrackers, lanterns and scrolls which were used centuries ago. Only recently has the holiday been given tribute in a new way.
The world of fashion has taken it upon itself to get in on the Chinese New Year festivities. It’s proven quite difficult for fashion to mix with cultural celebrations without crossing the fine line of appropriation. Despite this challenge, a variety of brands have been paying homage to the Lunar New Year in personally unique ways.
Moschino cultivated a collection that explores the Year of the Rat with a special take on Mickey Mouse called “The Mickey Rat.” Levi’s created a lookbook, incorporating the lucky colors of red and gold with a camo pattern consisting of rat inspired motifs. Most importantly, the campaign features a Malaysian actor, Lawrence Wong, whose story aligns with their slogan: ‘New Year, Follow Your Heart (新年, 一切从心).’ Even make-up brands such as Fenty Beauty, Pat McGrath and Chanel (carried at Sephora) took time to create limited-edition collections with packaging. These designs mimic the century-old red paper cutouts or work intricate Chinese design elements into the makeup itself to join the Lunar New Year.
So what content crosses the line?
Who’s to say these brands are not just using Chinese New Year as a selling point, as opposed to respectfully and positively celebrating the holiday? The GuccixDisney line sells itself under a “Chinese New Year Gifts” category and has Mickey Mouse heavy iconography, like Moschino, but there is nothing that stylistically hints at the year of the rat or any features of Chinese nature. Vivenne Westwood and Bulgari created collections with varying shades of red, corresponding to the myth of Chinese New Year. However, their products hardly correlate to the Chinese holiday. Perhaps the “serpents” on the Bulgari pieces work for the Year of the Snake… in 2025.
It is very easy to market products for a holiday for the sake of consumerism, but that does not make it right to exploit a culture. Take Burberry for example. In 2019 they created an ultimately unsuccessful collection that made a mockery of Chinese culture. The collection consisted of stamping a red ‘fortune’ (福) on the corner of the classic scarf, photographing a Chinese family in otherwise typical clothes and called it a day. However, in 2020, Burberry redeemed themselves with a collection featuring a carefully thought out motif which honors the rat rather than insulting the culture.
It truly is heartwarming as a Chinese individual to feel celebrated through fashion, especially by brands I adore. There were so many collections that successfully and playfully honor the Chinese New Year while rooting themselves in the heart of the holiday.
Words by Mary Fant
Graphic by Mary Fant