Asian Social Science; Vol. 16, No. 2; 2020 ISSN 1911-2017 E-ISSN 1911-2025

Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education

11

Research on Chinese Influence on Western Fashion Based on Fashion Magazine from 1970 to 1979

Yuru Ma1 & Xiangyang Bian1 1 Fashion & Art Design Institute, Donghua University, Shanghai, China Correspondence: Xiangyang Bian, Fashion & Art Design Institute, Donghua University, 1882 West Yan’an Road, Changning District, Shanghai, China. Tel: 137-0171-5417. E-mail: bianxiangyang@163.com Received: November 28, 2019 Accepted: December 28, 2019 Online Published: January 31, 2020 doi:10.5539/ass.v16n2p11 URL: https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v16n2p11 Abstract The decade of 1970s was a peak of Chinese influence on Western fashion. This article was intended to reveal the categories and design characteristics of Chinese-influenced clothing with classified statistical method based on collecting a total of 295 sets of designs presented during 1970-1979 from four fashion magazines. The underlying reasons for the popularity of Chinese-influenced clothing on western fashion were also analyzed and summarized. The research results showed that the Chinese-influenced clothing included three categories: outdoor daily clothes, indoor home wears and evening dresses, presenting neutral, romantic and luxury respectively. The popularity of Chinese-influenced clothing was mainly a result of some national and international factors, including anti-fashion aesthetics in the western society, the normalization of Sino-American relation and the development of Hong Kong trade. Keywords: China, dress, history, design, western Chinoiserie was originated from French when the maritime trade developed between China and France in 16th century. Large quantities of Chinese arts and crafts were imported into Europe, thus inducing a Chinese-style boom there in 18th century. Reflected in decorative design, Chinoiserie is a kind of elegant, gorgeous and exotic decorative style, that mixes with the traditional Western aesthetic temperament and interest, rather than the pure Chinese style. Chinese culture has been influencing the Western textile and clothing for many centuries, especially for the period of reform and opening up in China since 1970s (Zeng, 2011, pp. 110-111). The “Chinoiserie” in the 18th century was mainly reflected in the design of textile patterns, clothing styles and colors. After the 19th century, western clothing began to be more influenced by China in terms of fabrics, patterns, styles and colors (Bian, 2006, p. 190). During this period, as an exotic style, Chinese clothing were only sought after by western designers, but did not form a lasting trend. However, in 1970s, Chinese-influenced clothing became popular in Europe and America. Young French fashion editors began sporting anti-fashion work uniforms imported from the People’s Republic of China (Steele, 1999, p. 78). Fashion designers also began creating their own high-style versions of Chinese apparel. The special appeal of Chinese clothing, the Han suit, the cheongsam and the Mao suit (Chinese uniform) has inspired many western fashion designers (Zeng, 2011, p. 8). Chinese aesthetics was typically applied on the garment fabrics, dress patterns, clothing styles and details, with fusion of the age characteristics. A large number of excellent modern fashion full of Chinese interest and charm came into being, creating a new style of Chinese themed fashion design and laying the foundation of modern and contemporary Chinese style fashion design. Due to Chinese growing influence on western fashion, related research started to spring up from various perspectives. Kim and DeLong (1992) analyzed Japanese and Chinese influence in both visual and written information as depicted in Harper’s Bazaar from l890-1927. Yu et al. (2001) discussed contemporary fashion influenced by Asian ethnic dress, focusing on China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea and Vietnam. Delong, Wu and Bao (2005) compared the aesthetic cognition of Chinese students and American students on contemporary Chinese-influenced dresses by using questionnaire survey method. Xu (2003) studied the artistry and aesthetic nature of Chinese-influenced clothing in the West. Some of the above-mentioned studies involved typical design cases during the 1970s, but most were still far from being all-inclusive and in-depth. Fashion media, the carrier and the driving force of modern trends, contain TV programs, magazines, newspapers and enterprise journals. In 1892, a magazine named Vogue was first published in the United States. Ever since

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Vol. 16, No. 2

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Vol. 16, No. 2

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Table 1. Classification statistics of Chinese-influenced clothing Types

elements Images of outdoor

wear QT Images of loungewear QT Images of evening dress QT

Types (from most to least)

Han suits 56 Cheongsams 20 Cheongsams 56

Mao suits 50 Han suits 14 Han suits 25

Cheongsams 13 Other types 11 Other types 17

Other types 23 Mao suits 5 Mao suits 5

Colors (Top 4 colors from most

to least)

Black 16 Red 9 Black 25

Dark blue 10 Peach and pink 7 Red 13

Khaki 9 White 5 Blue 8

Grey/White 6 Light blue 4 Violet/Orange 6

Fabrics (Top 4 shell fabric from

most to least)

Cotton 56 Silk 35 Silk 58

Silk 27 Cotton 4 Chemical fiber 15

Woolen fabric 21 Chemical fiber 4 Mixed fabric 10

Mixed fabric 14 Mixed fabric 2 Cotton 5

Patterns (from most to least)

No pattern 88 No pattern 21 Patterns of flowers and plants 57

Patterns of flowers and plants 25

Patterns of flowers and plants 20 No patterns 29

Geometric patterns 21 Geometric patterns 5 Geometric patterns 6 Other patterns 8 Patterns of animals 4 Other patterns 5

Decoration Crafts (from most to

least)

Three-dimensional decoration 77

A combination of decorations 22

A combination of decorations 49

No decoration 44 Three-dimensional decoration 17 Three-dimensional

decoration 35

Graphic decoration 19 Graphic decoration 7 Graphic decoration 15 A combination of

decorations 2 No decoration 4 No decoration 4

Note. QT= Quantity.

4. Features of Chinese-influenced Women’s Wear in the 1970s It can be learned from the statistics narrated above that Chinese-influenced clothing in the 1970s were divided into three categories: outdoor clothes, loungewear and evening dresses, each having its own styles and features. Most of them were adopted the shape and style of Chinese clothing, but made changes and innovations in colors, fabrics and details. 4.1 Chinese-influenced Outdoor Wear As can be seen in the statistics, most Chinese-influenced outdoor clothes were mainly designed from Mao suits and Han suits. Table 2 shows the different types of Chinese-influenced outdoor clothes. Shown in Figure A, an outdoor suit, was included in a report in Vogue on April 4 1975. Inspired by Mao suit, the upper part of the suit was a stand - collar, open - cut suit with four big pockets, while the lower part was black slacks. Figure B was a perfect Chinese tunic made by Marc Bohan for Christian Dior. Ivory crêpe with thin black passementerie edging, a tasseled passementerie belt wrapped and the frog button indicated the Chinese influence. Figure C shows a model wearing a central opening Han suit-influenced garment, which was made by cotton. The mandarin collar, black roll edge and the frog buttons show Chinese features. The editor also indicated that BOLLS defines Chinoiserie with a charming quilted tobacco Chinese jacket in 100% cotton, piped in black…reversing to tan-and-white stripes for another great sportswear look (Vogue, 1976 August 1, p. 37). Although the outdoor clothes were influenced by different types of Chinese clothing, they had the same features. The clothes were made of natural fabrics like cotton, wool and silk. Most of them were put stress on functional decorations instead of fancy patterns; they were often in dark colors or achromatic colors, such as black, dark

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Vol. 16, No. 2

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Vol. 16, No. 2

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actively adopted labors from the Far East, including Hong Kong. Consequently, Hong Kong ushered in its economic boom and flourishing trade, attracting attention from western designers paid to Hong Kong’s local culture and even Chinese culture. In this manner, Hong Kong turned into a major inspiration source of Chinese and Southeast Asian elements. An article entitled “Chinois Series” in the August 1975 issue of Harpers and Queen mentioned that “…many of our designers are having their ranges made up in Hong Kong and other stations east. It is inevitable that the trained eye of a professional designer will be influenced by the things that assault his eye on working trips to these exotic climes.” (Harpers and Queen, 1975 August 1, p. 56). Moreover, Hong Kong has become a mirror of Chinese dress culture, with a large number of export goods providing western designers with Chinese-style samples and references. Women’s Wear Daily reported on August 18, 1971 that “Carol Horn sees the Chinese influence as a new inspiration of ‘exotic or workman’s clothes.” (WWD, 1971 August 18, p. 4). The report also included her self-report, “I had Chinese peasant clothes flown from Hong Kong to get an authentic look...” (Ibid). Hong Kong’s role as a transit point connecting Chinese mainland and western capitalist countries had boosted the popularity of Chinese-style garments in the West. 6. Conclusion Chinese-influenced clothing was a product of a certain historical stage with complex social background. In the 1970s, Chinese-influenced clothing included three categories: outdoor clothes, loungewear and evening dress. Outdoor clothes were mainly influenced by Han suits and Mao suits worn by Chinese workers and peasants. They were made of cotton, wool, silk and other natural fabrics, more stress laid on practical applicability. They had become the most popular Chinese-influenced clothes featuring simplicity, unadornedness, functionality and neutrality in the 1970s. Loungewear mostly included cheongsams and Han suits. In most cases, silk-based natural fabrics were adopted with much attention paid to comfort. Chinese-influenced loungewear gave an impression of leisure, tenderness, and romance. Evening dress stemmed from Manchu robes and cheongsams. They were rich in colors and diverse in decorations, looking graceful, luxurious and splendid with a combination of traditional Chinese attributes and contemporary international trends. The social origin for the 70s popularity of Chinese-influenced clothing lay in the anti-fashion trend of thought led by western values of self-negation. The aesthetics of Chinese-influenced clothing in terms of economic value, class equality, gender equality and nostalgia were in line with the aesthetic requirements of anti-fashion in the West. International factors ranging from Sino-American relation normalization to Hong Kong economic boom also contributed to the popularity of Chinese-influenced clothing. However, the enthusiasm for Chinese-influenced clothing had gone through merely a short-term prosperity. Chinese fashion influence has long been considered a symbolic aesthetic of surface. With the expanding international impact of China, Chinese fashion along with its cultural value should be interpreted, shaped and advertised anew in a more essential way today. Acknowledgements This research has been financed by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities in 2018 (CUSF-DH-D-2018046); China Scholarship Fund (201806630051). References “I like being who I am” Gloria Cooper. (1972, June 1). Vogue, p. 79. Advertisement: Fashion Quorum (1976, August 1). Vogue (New York edition), p. 37. Anti-fashion (2019, November 3). In Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved November 3, 2019, from

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