Chinese fashionInfluence in Western

China has an ancient history of 5000 years as a civilization .The special allure and charm of Chinese clothing has fascinated Western fashion designers and consumers. It all began in 114 BC when The Silk Route connected important paths of West and East by merchants, soldiers, monks from China, India, Persia and the Mediterranean countries . Afterwards the trade had escalated demand in Europe and later in America. After China became no more isolated , the end of 1970s, China started to trade with the whole world. Many world famous brands like Lacroix, Christian Dior, Versace, and Ralph Laurent use Chinese traditional women's dress elements in their designs. The specific aims of this project are to identify the influence of the Hanfu, Qipao, and Mao suit along with other Chinese dress characteristics, including accessories, hair styles, and makeup, on Western women's dress.

The first one is Hanfu, which is

divided into informal, formal and court dress.

Generally, all three types

have in common wide and

voluminous sleeves and a very loose fit. Because of the relatively plain

design, ornaments were

used at the collars and sleeves to

decorate the garments

Darker colors were much more favored than lighter ones in traditional Chinese clothing so the main color of ceremonial clothing tended to be dark while bright, elaborate tapestry designs accented. Lighter colored clothing was worn more frequently by the common people for everyday use.

There are 3 main kinds of Traditional Chinese clothes

Hanfu

Mao Suit

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Hanfu has a really rich history. In 3 millenniums it has endured a lot of developments. It takes its

roots from Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC). During the

Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BC) it has became looser, with the

introduction of wide sleeves and jade decorations hung from the

sash which served to keep the yi (shirt) closed. The yi was

essentially wrapped over, in a style known as “jiaoling youren”.

Hanfu of Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BC)

Hanfu of Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD)

Hanfu is the traditional historical clothing of the Han

people in China. It was worn by ancient Chinese dynasties for millennia from 1600 year BC

until XVII century. The other title of it is the Silk Robe. This name is justified by the main feature of the garment – a huge loose

robe that wrap around the whole body.

Ruqun is the traditional Chinese attire for women. It consists of a blouse

(Ru) and a wrap-around skirt (Qun)

The first type is Informal Hanfu, which can be both male and female. It had many variants, as it was developed during the time. At the pictures is depicted Shenui (Ming Dynasty 1368-1644) - a kind of full-length, one-piece robe, which links the upper garment and lower skirt together to envelop the body. Here the two parts are cut separately but sewn together at the waist in a kind of a belt. They are called Yi (shirt) and Shang (skirt).

.Wedding

Costume

Yuanlingshan - a round collared robe used for

official or academicals

dress. Only those who passed the

civil examinations are entitled to

wear them. (Ming Dynasty 1368-

1644)

The next type is Formal Hanfu. Formal Hanfu was worn only at certain special occasions like important sacrifices and religious activities or by special people who are entitled to wear them such as officials and emperors.

Daopao/Fusha is the traditional

Chinese attire for men. It is a form of

formal wear in the Ming Dynasty

(1368-1644). It is a full-length robe with side slits beginning below

the waist

Wedding

Costume

The Chinese associate certain colors with specific seasons. Green represents spring, red symbolizes summer, white represents autumn, and black symbolizes winter. The Chinese are said to have a fully developed system of matching, coordinating, and contrasting colors and shades of light and dark in apparel.

Red is favorite for most Chinese people since Red symbolizes good luck. Chinese people prefer to wear red when they are celebrating some important festivals or events in their life, such as wedding ceremony.

Mianfu - the emperors‟ ceremonial

enthronement dress. (Han Dynasty 206 B.C.-

220 A.D.)

The Court dress is now obsolete in the modern age, but it still could be an inspiration for fashion designers.

Tang Dynasty

Court dress

The third type is Court dress, which is a ceremonial dress of officials or nobles.

Court dress has additional adornment and elaborate headwear. The entire court dress type can consist of many complex layers

and look very elaborate, and they are often brightly colored.

Hanfu InfluencesBecause of the China’s essential economical and political influence throughout the Asian countries, its culture was also spread to another Asian regions. It concerns the national costumes as well. Some countries such as Vietnam have traditional garments that are similar to Hanfu. Other Asian countries' traditional costumes, such as the Korean Hanbok and Japanese Kimono, do have some differences from Hanfu. Compared with the Japanese Kimono, Korean traditional dress is much more similar to Hanfu. Hanbok, have been heavily influenced by the Chinese due to the extensive cultural exchanges between the neighbouring countries. In contrast to China, traditional Japanese and Korean dress have not been affected by similar changes like in China and thus have retained many core elements of the original Hanfu. Today for the Chinese Han the Hanfu is of great importance. It is not only a part of wardrobe, but a significant part of history, that represents an ancient legacy.

Qing Dynasty national clothing

– Qipao

Manchu national dress

The QipaoThe next kind of Chinese traditional clothing is Qipao. It is now considered to be the national woman Chinese dress, which consists of one part (modern qipao), but historically it was a traditional costume for Manchu women.

Manchu Dynasty invaded China in 1640 and was spreading new culture around the country. Han women were wearing Hanfu, which consisted of two parts, but during the time they also preferred Qipao, because it was more practical and more beautiful.

Therefore, the long sleeves covered the

hands, for warmth and for propriety, as showing the

hands was considered

impolite during that time.

Original Qipao presented a dress with a round neck and a panel crossing

from left to right, fastening at the side with five buttons and loops. Two side slits allowed freedom for walking and horseback riding. The Manchu Qipao

was worn with trousers; the embroidered edges of trousers could be seen through the slits in the skirt.

Nevertheless, both garments influenced each other. So Qipao

inherited the collar from the Han’s women’s jacket which became

higher. All the women concealed their figures and wore Qipao

regardless of age.

It should be noted, that it was inappropriate at that time to show any part of woman’s body, except

for the face.

The material of the Manchu Qipao was heavy satin, silk or jacquard fabric with complicated decorations. The Qipao was usually embroidered with flower patterns, or trimmed with Western lace. The gowns were generally ankle-length, except for the time when young women were about to get married and noble women in royal palaces, who wore heels as high as three inches, requiring longer gowns.

At first Qipao was no so popular among the Han Women. The reason lays in the historical demand for women: girls from six years were forced to have their feet bound with long strips of cloth, that were slowing down the growth of their legs. Manchu people (Qing Dynasty, 1644-1911) were fighting at first with this cruel method, but then paid little attention to it. That’s why Han women were ashamed to wear Qipao, because they were unable to imitate those of the Man nationality, who wore shoes with high soles and looked erect and elegant in qipao. Thus, for three hundred years the qipao belonged literally to the Qi girls and women.

ChangesWith the freeing of Chinese girls from this evil social custom in the 20s of the last century, qipao gradually came into vogue. Girl students and female correspondents put on this type of dress and came to be looked upon as representatives of "the modern female sex". Audacious girls reformed this dress in the 30s and 40s of the 20th century. They shortened the sleeves and widened the slits in the lower part of the dress. They did away with the long trousers which females of the Man nationality had been obliged to wear. Thus their naked arms and legs were exposed to the eyes of males, who looked at them with wonder and admiration.So The Qipao underwent numerous changes in style

after its first appearance. The cut of the Qipao changed constantly, as Chinese women's dress

became much more subject to fashion than it ever had been before. The changing Qipao from the

traditional Manchu loose garment to the modern Qipao is shown at the pictures above. But in spite

of all changes, one characteristic remained the same – a mandarin collar, which symbolized even in

the 1990s Chinese clothes.

Mao Suit• At the beginning of the XX century Chinese men gradually abandoned the

former tangzhuang jackets and loose long gowns that had been worn for thousands of years in China, and put on the neat, close-fitting Western

business suit or Mao suit (known in China as Zhongshan suit, named after Dr. Sun Yat-Sen). Mao suit became little short of the national dress for Chinese

males after the founding of the Republic of China （ 1912, and the typical image of a Chinese student or politician then was in a Mao suit. Business suit

was soon widely seen worn by businesspeople in such big metropolises as Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Another part of Chinese national garments which greatly contribute to the whole style of costumes is different accessories. The Chinese accessories which appealed attention in the whole world such as style hats, parasols, earrings, bracelets, pendants, and fans can beautify any dress.

Chinese hats have several different shapes. The most famous of them - a coolie hat, is a conical shaped hat with a chin strap. It is often used to protect the wearer from the sun and rain. The materials of a coolie hat could be straw, silk or other materials.

The hat with a round crown and upturned brim with a flaring edge originally comes from the Qing Dynasty. Her elements were used my modern designers such as Saint Laurent. He adopted a little round brimless scull hat to add to the Chinese effect of his design. - ????

The Chinese parasol (oil paper umbrella) is a type of a paper umbrella that originated from China. They are usually made from paper or silk with bamboo ribs. It was later adopted by

Japan and Korea and also introduced to Western countries via the Silk Road. It subsequently spread

across Asia, to Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Laos.

Earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and pendants are another examples of Chinese accessories. They are usually made from jade, wood, lacquer, and cloisonné. Designs such as dragon, bat, and crane, appear frequently to symbolize power, blessing and peace.

The Chinese style umbrella or parasol appeared in American Vogue 47 times.The use of parasols were seen in photographs of live models showing John Galiano's Chinese look for Dior in July 1997. The small parasol is decorated with Chinese style motifs, which adds a strong eastern effect to the ensemble.

Fabrics used include silk, cotton, hemp, chiffon, satin and other natural fibers. Many of these fabrics are patterned with Chinese motifs, such as birds, fine floral scrolls, asymmetrical designs.. Chinese fabrics have influenced Western fabric over an extended period of time.

The accessories such as jewelry, hats, fans, umbrellas, hair styles have a great effect on dress appearance. 

There were multiple peaks, with the highest point in 1979. It gained such popularity that they were no longer

considered exotic items. Some Chinese influenced jewelry appeared in advertisements.

The fan became an essential accessory to women's dress. The fan took place from China and later appeared in Japan and other far eastern countries. The fan was adopted in Europe in the sixteenth century. It was not only a fashionable feminine ornament , but but also became a personal statement .Karl Lagerfeld, a Famous fashion designer,who always wears sunglasses and carries a folding fan when he appears in fashion shows. Fans often worn by Western women add some exotic mood to the design .