Classic option is stylish choice

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Directed by designer Gong Hangyu, a cheongsam-themed play exhibits a range of modern styles for business, formal and casual settings, as well as for children (PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

When Gong Hangyu established cheongsam brand Chantel Gong in 2012, she never expected that this traditional Chinese dress would eventually become such a massive hit with the younger generation.

Her goal then was simple, to combine her keen understanding of traditional Chinese culture with the latest fashion concepts from abroad to create a unique cheongsam never seen before in the market.

“I started innovating as soon as the brand was established. I realised that contemporary women are more independent and have more diverse fashion demands. If they want to wear a cheongsam for different occasions, this traditional outfit must evolve,” says Gong.

The result was a wide range of modern, Shanghai-style cheongsams, or qipao, that could be used in business, formal and casual settings. The brand later expanded its repertoire by adding accessories and furniture and holding traditional-style events to popularise the cheongsam.

“More and more young people are buying cheongsams today. The cheongsam used to be an outfit reserved for older women and for special occasions, but the younger generation today wear this dress to showcase their sense of style,” says Gong. “Take my 17-year-old daughter for instance – she wears the cheongsam with jeans and white sneakers.”

Expanding the target audience to include fashion-savvy young customers meant having to make the cheongsam more affordable. While the price of traditional cheongsams usually starts around 5,000 yuan (£619), Gong introduced variations that could be bought for as little as a few hundred yuan. Her brand also offers premium options that cost as much as traditional cheongsams.

Zhai Xinyu, 25, is among those who have embraced wearing this traditional dress in everyday settings. Over the past three years, Zhai has bought more than seven different styles of cheongsam that have been worn for work, daily life and formal events. The most basic dress of the lot cost just 100 yuan (£12). The most exquisite cost 3,000 yuan (£371).

“I’m confident that sentiments are changing. You will find many young people wearing cheongsam-style clothes in shopping malls, parks and scenic spots today,” Zhai said. “Many young fashion bloggers have also been creating video content about the cheongsam. More and more new styles of the dress have also been emerging. I once saw a short cheongsam with geometric prints. That was the first time I had seen anything like that.”

Market reports have painted a similar picture. According to an e-commerce report released by Donghai Securities on June 20, 2022, the cheongsam was one of the most sought-after items on online retailer Vipshop during the recent June 18 shopping carnival in China. The report noted that the sales of this dress had increased nine times compared with the previous year.

The cheongsam first emerged in the 1920s as loose-fitting dress that was not commonly worn by women as it looked similar to the one-piece gowns that Chinese men wore.

It was only around the 1930s that the dress started becoming a means of accentuating a woman’s  curves as a group of tailors who were adept at sewing Chinese tunic dresses and Western-style suits began pioneering a new style.

According to Liu Yu, a professor at the college of fashion and design at Shanghai’s Donghua University, this change to the silhouette quickly made the cheongsam a daily dress. Before long, the outfit became a must-have item for every fashion-savvy woman in Shanghai, which was considered the fashion capital of the nation.

“Although there are many cheongsam styles in China, the first thing that comes to mind when one mentions this dress is the scene of a woman in a cheongsam walking along the Bund in Shanghai,” says Shen Huiqin, director of the Shanghai Qipao Culture Promotion Association.

Previously published on Chinadaily.com.cn