The Rise and Rise of Chinese Street Style

 

Chinese street style featured on TikTok

A tall, model-thin couple with perfect looks and perfect hair and the kind of sartorial flair only a very stylish stylist can put together, slow-motion walk down a Shanghai street as if it were their own private catwalk. The music powering every step is Blackpink's 'How You Like That',  which seems to charge every step this impossibly cool couple take. They are dressed head to toe in black, expensive accessories, sunglasses, the highest of heels for her and big black clunky boots for him. They look straight ahead, not talking to each other, yet are perfectly in synch. Their outfits are meticulously matched, to the finest detail. Both wear chain belts that swing as they walk. each step they take is long and shows the clothes off to their highest potential. Not a hair is out of place. Every item they carry is meticulously thought out. No shopping bags or unnecessary baggage. Even their black face-masks match. As the minute long clip is about to end, the male companion turns to the camera cooly, as if suddenly noticing the person videoing them. He briefly smiles, puts his palms together in greeting, politely acknowledging the person capturing the moment, bows his head and then goes back to languidly marching off down the street/catwalk with his female companion. So what has taken place here? You might think this is a scene from the latest Won Kar-Wai movie. Or an ad for Commes de Garcon. A fashion shoot? In fact this is TikTok's new obsession - Chinese Street Style. 

'Chinese street fashion', a breakout trend last year, has been gathering speed on TikTok, where users edit together video clips of fashionable folk seemingly going about their daily business.

Taken off Chinese TikTok, Douyin, these street style videos are often filmed within Taikoo Li in Chengdu, Shanghai's Xintiandi, and Beijing's Sanlitun, the recognised fashion and nightlife districts of the respective cities.  Although the intention is for the images to be impulsive, 'caught in the moment' snapshops of cool citizens  either walking, shopping or sauntering arm-in-arm with friends, some are most certainly influencers and models. In some cases it is kind of a coordinated stunt for the fashion industry.

With the rise of influencer culture, many influencers actually go out dressing very stylish in hopes of being filmed and having their video go viral on Douyin in order to gain more exposure It is also used by brands as a method of advertisement - seen as a more 'relatable' way of advertising clothes.

The clips feature ensembles ranging from discreet, all-black outfits that are impeccably tailored and layered to more flashy streetwear looks from labels such as Balenciaga, Misbhv, and Vetements. In almost every video, the subjects will stare directly into the camera, almost acknowledging our fascinated stares from the other side of the screen.  A lot of the videos capitalise on the power of outfit twinning, with the street-stylers wearing matching fashion.

There are a few key accounts that have made this growing trend their focus, including pages such as @eromei, @sh1ryinyin, @curioussyd, and @marstruck. 

Fans of these videos have begun asking some critical questions in the comments section—mainly about the logistics of shooting them. A popular pondering is who exactly is shooting these, and why does every street-style subject look directly into the lens, as though they’re in on the shoot? Is this an orchestrated production, or are they genuinely magical candids? Anna Mei, who runs @eromei and compiles the street-style videos on her popular page, claims the footage is actually sourced from different videographers on Douyin, According to a report from BuzzFeed,  many of the subjects are models or influencers who are in on the action.

TikTokers like elly.xia, often sort Chinese street style into various categories:

Pastel Goth/ Lolita Inspired

Lolita goths

Pastel goth is an aesthetic that is derived from goth. Pastel goth is rooted in Japanese Harajuku street style and lolita fashion. It was popular in the 2010s. Pastel goth i- essentially goth with a pastel colour scheme with some added Hello Kitty cute factor, but still keep the horror elements.” We also describe it as “creepy cute.” 

Hip-Hop Inspired

Hip hop insipired streetwear

Another classic look that has integrated into Chinese street style is hip-hop fashion. The looks include wearing oversized clothes, bucket hats, chain accessories, denim dungarees, sportswear as casual wear, and sneakers. Artists also pioneered mixing high-end designer clothes with casual pieces. The 90s aesthetic of girls wearing tight tops with oversized baggy trousers is a popular trend.

E-Boy/ E-Girl Inspired

E-boy/E-girl inspired streetwear

E-boys and e-girls—is the latest fashion trend for teenagers on social media. The style is one of the broadest genres of clothing. It is considered a combination of long-standing parts of internet culture, such as anime, K-pop, and skater culture. Outfits often consist of layered skirts, sweaters, and jackets along with baggy pants and chunky boots like Doc Martens. Chains and metalwork are the accessories. And feminine outfits take inspiration from anime and consist of school-girl skirts (or skater skirts), thigh-high knee socks, and Mary Jane school girl shoes. 

The makeup of "e-people" aims to make the wearer look younger through exaggerated blush on their cheeks and nose. This look also involves dyeing hair with eccentric colors, inspired by anime characters. 

Traditional Inspired

Traditional streetwear

This portion of Chinese street style is the most unique to China and directly inspired by Chinese culture. In 2019 wearing traditional Hanfu clothing came back in fashion. The younger generation decided to show their appreciation for Hanfu fashion and culture by wearing full traditional garbs in everyday life. Hanfu are stunning outfits. But people truly get creative when traditional Chinese pieces and silhouettes are incorporated into modern styles.

For example, the two photos above show dresses that use traditional Hanfu silhouettes, but with a modern twist. The dresses don’t have nearly as many layers. They include applique patterns and mesh fabric to show some skin—something traditional Hanfu clothing would never include.

These outfits have a more subtle inclusion of traditional Chinese clothing. The person in black on the left took inspiration from the layered dress of Hanfu. But they made it more subtle by wearing all-black instead of the traditionally bright colors.

Other traditional Chinese pieces like qipaos are functional enough to wear with a slight modern alteration. These moderations involve high leg slits, sleeves, lace, fur or accessories. 

Chinese street fashion is fascinating to a global audience because it doesn’t adhere to one specific style. Experimental, eccentric, in a time when the rest of the world was tucked away in loungewear, Chinese fashionistas inspired those Tiktokers closeted away in lockdown wiht a reminder of how inspiring and fun dressing up can be. Even if it is just for a trip to the shops.

 Even if these videos are pre-planned, the end result isn’t any less captivating. In fact, the trend has inspired a large number of TikTok creators to recreate this specific style of shooting.

Friends Jeffery Dang (@jeffery.dang) and Nava Rose (the.navarose), for instance,  are two Tiktok creators, both big fans of Asian streetwear brands, who were instantly drawn to the confident energy that many of the Chinese street-style stars exude, and they wanted to recreate it in their own way. “Chinese street style inspires me [because of] the versatility and confidence that each person has,” says Dang. “Each person has their own original and specific taste in clothing, whether they are styling basics, culturalwear, or loud pieces.”

Jeffrey Dang and Nava Rose

For Rose, watching these videos also caused her to rethink her own style. “The Chinese street-style videos opened my eyes and made me look at fashion in a new light,” she says. “They inspired me to step my styling game up and made me feel more comfortable taking risks in what I wear.” Dang, meanwhile, focused on all-black attire and interesting layering. “Their clothes are constructed with silhouettes that most American clothing brands do not offer, which inspires me to incorporate that fit into my wardrobe,” he says. “Bonus: Many of them wear face masks as an accessory as well, which we all should be doing.”

As the trend builds momentum, Dang and Rose hope to keep seeing Chinese street-style flair pop up on the app. They feel Asian street style to be more avant garde and daring than that of Western culture. “The majority of us do not dress like that—but we all wish we did,” says Dang. Rose agrees, adding, “It’s a side of fashion that a lot of us here in the U.S. are not used to seeing. I have never seen a grown woman wear a Cheez-It top and make it high fashion.”

Yin is from Chengdu, one of the cities where fashion photographers are posted up, also said she she’s proud and excited about the reception her videos are getting as it gives the rest of the world a view of China that they don't normally see.

“I think it’s very refreshing for people to get this new insight into Chinese street fashion. I hope that through these videos, people are more excited to learn about China,” she said. “I think these videos are going so viral now because people living outside of China may have never imagined that Chinese people are so invested in fashion.”