Chinese fashion could be easily controlled

In conjunction with the rapid Chinese economic development and the growth of the creative industry, elements of ‘fashion’ have already blended into many aspects of people’s life.  Study of Chinese ‘fashion’ is becoming an important way to know more about Chinese consumers’ demands.

The article bellow could help you better understand the characteristics of current Chinese fashion and Chinese people’s adoption of fashion in daily life, as well as understand the trends of change in Chinese consumers’ fashion.

Commerce is the core element pushing the waves of fashion

Chinese consumers have already formed stronger brand awareness, and will have more intense fashion consumption desires in the future. They tend to think ‘cool things’, ‘famous brand autos’ and ‘high-level clothes’ represent fashion in the best way. Obviously, commercial factors have a very strong influence on people's fashion use and purchases.

In all aspects of various fashion scenes, activities which are approved by and participated in by people have obvious commercially driven characteristics. The participation frequency of fashion activities, e.g. playing network games, going to large-scale theme parks, going clubbing or to beauty salon to get facials, is very high.

At the same time, media channels, e.g. TV and magazines, which have multitudinous advertisements and a tremendous influence on commerce, have already become the main channels for Chinese people to obtain fashion information. In contrast, those culture-power-guided information channels, e.g. participating in fashion shows, visiting galleries and connecting with fashionable people, are seldom of interest to the general public.

Chinese people's fashion is mainly inspired and influenced by commercial strength, and today’s fashion in China belongs to the standard commercialized fashion."

Chinese fashion relies highly on modes of active spreading

Chinese people's construction of fashion ideas is prominently influenced by media opinions. The ranking of most fashionable occupations in people’s minds happens to be the same as the information transmitted by public media; that is fashion models are number one, followed by television program director, singer, actor, and designer.

Among the most fashionable cutting-edge characters recognized by the public, performance stars, sports stars, and business people are all included. These people, who possess fashions essential factors, are also pleased to spread fashion information, and become the most active in media roles.

Among factors which drive people to pursue fashion, willingness to ‘display’, ‘label’ and ‘pursuit of approval of personal identity by others’ are the main ones.  Models and super stars that are regarded to have the most fashionable occupations, regardless of their clothing or hairstyle, are highly exposed to the public community by different modes of media channels, and are familiar to and imitated by the public.

In the case of China, Chinese fashion highly relies on positive initiative and active spreading modes. In the development of the Chinese fashion industry, people in the fashion world absolutely cannot underestimate the power of a variety of media, as well as exposure from super stars, especially those who are simultaneously acting as the fashion star and the industry star.

Shallow fashion, quick fashion

Stop after getting a smattering of information; be content with a superficial understanding; focus on form; change fast. Chinese people's fashion consumption obviously has "shallow" but "quick" characteristics.

Chinese people’s understanding of fashion events, fashion concepts and fashion brand content is very weak. Although many people have bought international fashion brand products, few of them have deep knowledge of those brands. Almost nobody can speak in detail of those famous fashion brands, topics like its historical evolution, and brand design characteristics. It can be seen that paying attention to product prestige and form design is the main consideration factor for Chinese consumers in the purchase of international brands, while deep understanding of brands is regarded as less important.

It’s not difficult for us to discover that Chinese people’s recognition and understanding of fashion are still at the stage of ‘shallow fashion’.  People's fashion behavior, especially in real consumption behavior, often displays a lower loyalty due to lack of knowledge and deep understanding of particular brands. Closely related to ‘shallow fashion’, Chinese people's fashion behavior also exhibits the characteristics of pursuing newness in style and quick changes, which we call ‘quick fashion’ characteristics. People’s fashion consumption frequency is very high, and alternates rapidly.

Behind this kind of ‘shallow and quick ' fashion phenomenon, merchants cannot neglect the great hidden cost risk that is an enterprises’ knowledge system, and its operational ability which could let products continue with unceasing change and the continuation of concept innovation. Fashion can carry the boat, but also can capsize the boat.  Nowadays, after you initiate the fashionable products consumption, if you haven’t good product renewal or change ability, you could face the situation of being abandoned by ' quick fashion ' consumers.

Senior white-collar workers are supporting the high level of Chinese fashion

The fashion level of Chinese senior white-collar workers is higher than the overall average level, and also obviously higher than other mainstream communities. They are the core community of Chinese fashion, and support Chinese fashion on a high level. They not only have good fashion accomplishment, but also have a higher fashion consumption behavior level. Private cars, notebooks, DCs, credit cards and golden bank cards are their necessary fashion products. Going clubbing, beauty therapy, fashion traveling and body exercise are their favorite fashion consumption products.

In addition, senior white-collar workers often pay attention to all kinds of fashion information, and have a very high attention frequency but low attention depth. In fact, they have already exceeded the stage of pure pursuit of approval by other people, but have clear understanding and judgment of themselves and society, and have explicit self-location and self-belonging tastes. When they search for fashion information, they prefer to choose information specifically suited to them, but not endlessly imitated.

In brief, fashion consumption has already become an important part of taste and lifestyle which is pursued by the senior white-collar worker. The increasing fashion consumption demands of the huge senior white-collar community will be able to impel the rapid development and prosperity of the Chinese fashion industry.

Cool things are ‘super’, super stars ‘lead the direction’

Chinese people’s understanding and knowledge of fashion is limited and the accomplishment ability of pursuing fashion is also weak. This situation is closely related to the lack of Chinas own fashion foundations and fashion industry. This kind of fashion is still a ‘taking’ fashion.

Since it’s a ‘taking’ fashion which is characterized by a lack of support of explicit, systematic, and stable values, Chinese people’s acceptance ability of external things is extraordinarily strong and they are glad to study and accept all new things. This has resulted in the multiple mixed characteristics of Chinese fashion. In ‘taking’ and ‘multiple’ Chinese fashion, people’s approval of a fashion symbol is relatively broad, from the cool things like famous brand autos and fashion clothes to cutting edge characters like performance stars, all kinds of fresh personalities and objects which can be related with the fashion. In Chinese people's mind, fashion is more like a status approval. Cool things, which may be regarded as a status symbol, can represent the fashion ideal best.  

At the same time, a majority of people also choose super stars to represent their most appreciated and approved fashion style. Those super stars are mainly performance stars and "commercial giants", who are not only public focal points, but also have essential fashion factors. They are acting in an interpersonal media role and positively spreading fashion information. In a word, cool things are ‘super’, and super stars ‘lead the direction’.

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