Overview
In the Mao era people wore the Zhongshan (Mao) suit and the Lenin jacket in a narrow palette of blue, grey and green, and the Cultural Revolution favored military green and the Red Guard look. After the 1978 reforms Western clothing, jeans and global brands returned, and cities embraced fast-changing fashion.
Key garments and style
Today China is both a vast consumer market and a rising source of designers and brands, and a youth-led revival of historical hanfu has brought ancient robes back onto the street, worn alongside the qipao as formal dress.
Transition
Chinese dress keeps evolving, its long tradition being rediscovered as global trends move through it.