Wearing a flowing robe adorned with beaded embroidery with a finely crafted silk fan in hand, Wang Runjie looked like she was a time traveler from a bygone era, and she turned plenty of heads while strolling through downtown Shanghai. Wang, a 21-year-old university student. While China has embraced Western fashion in recent years, an apparel renaissance is taking shape, with a growing army of youngsters looking to the past for their sartorial choices. Wang is an avid fan of hanfu clothing-generally understood as the traditional garb representing the Han ethnic group in China. A number of factors are contributing to the phenomenon-everything from TV dramas that popularize ancient styles to rising patriotic sentiment. Wang managed to find her like-minded pals via QQ, China’s best-known social media tool, where hanfu enthusiasts gather voluntarily via group chats that also offer a degree of anonymity if desired. Internet users discuss everything from the latest hanfu trends and places that make perfect hanfu photography backdrops, to the best accessories to accompany outfits. But one element is expediting the tide from an individual liking to a collective carnival-social media. Huang has been taking a more academic approach, delving into the history of the apparel, and that can sometimes lead to debates among friends. In the eyes of Liang Zhu, vice-president of QQ’s parent company Tencent Holdings Ltd, social media platforms stand to take the credit for amplifying enduring social trends and fast-tracking them to reach a tipping point. A number of functionalities embedded in QQ-from virtual outfits that users can swap for their profile displays to a QQ Music channel dedicated to traditional Chinese style-have worked in tandem to celebrate the traditional culture vibe. It was also through a QQ-organized event that she met Huang Rong, another hanfu mega-fan. Both Wang and Huang said social media sites provide a natural gateway for subcultures like hanfu to become more inclusive undertakings for a growing audience who are new to the phenomena. Hanfu carries hefty weight, not in simply cultural terms but financially as well. Both Wang and Huang admitted owning numerous hanfu outfits, and often can’t resist the temptation to buy alternatives. Average spending per piece stands at around 550 yuan ($84), with some bearing prohibitive price tags of up to 15,000 yuan.
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