Classic option is stylish choice

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: 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 realized 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 popularize the cheongsam.

In its first year, the brand generated about 300,000 yuan ($44,880) in sales per month. In 2019, this figure rose to a whopping 10 million yuan.

"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, 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.

Sales increased

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. The most exquisite cost 3,000 yuan.

In fact, her passion for this outfit has even seen her join the Shanghai Qipao Culture Promotion Association.

"I usually wear a cheongsam at work. But if I wear a cheongsam when hanging out with my friends, they will be surprised. To them, the cheongsam is nothing more than my work attire," says Zhai.

"But 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. 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, the cheongsam was one of the most sought-after items on online retailer Vipshop during the recent June 18 shopping carnival. The report noted that the sales of this dress had increased nine times compared with the previous year.

Meanwhile, the cheongsam has been among the most searched fashion-related products on Douyin this year, according to a report by the short-video platform.

A fashion evolution

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 one's curves as Hongbang 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.

Today, the cheongsam could be said to be synonymous with Shanghai.

"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," says Shen Huiqin, director of the Shanghai Qipao Culture Promotion Association.

But the "cultural revolution" (1966-76) saw this coveted dress disappear from society almost completely as it was deemed a bourgeoisie symbol, according to Shen. It was only in the 1990s since the reform and opening-up that it started making a comeback in Chinese society.

Shen believes that the cheongsam will only become more prevalent in the years to come, noting that many hotels and airlines have already been trying to adopt the cheongsam as their official work attire. Other industries have been following suit, too.

Promoting the look

As the director of the Shanghai Qipao Culture Promotion Association, Shen has been in charge of promoting the charm of this iconic dress to the world since 2014.Among the association's major achievements is showcasing the dress at major events including the 2015 Milan Expo, the United Nations and the annual China International Import Expo.

Under her leadership, the association has also held a Shanghai-style cheongsam culture festival every year since 2014 to allow more people to learn about the outfit.

Supported by the Shanghai Women's Federation, the festival features a variety of events in which performers are dressed in cheongsams. Despite being held online this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival attracted an audience of more than 2 million, a sign that the enthusiasm for this classic dress is hardly waning.

To raise awareness of the cheongsam among the younger generation, the association has cooperated with 15 middle schools and colleges, including Donghua University and Shanghai No 3 Girls' High School, to hold exhibitions and lectures.

It has also set up a Shanghai-style cheongsam research and development base in several universities and got talented college students to design three cheongsams that could be featured at the Shanghai Fashion Week next year.

"I'm looking forward to holding a Shanghai-style cheongsam competition in the Yangtze River Delta during Spring Festival next year. This event would allow more young people to learn about the dress and encourage them to join us on this journey of promoting this piece of heritage," she adds.