This study aimed to analyze the characteristics of the New-Chinese style appearing in Chinese fashion designer Shiatzy Chen’s collections and, accordingly, recommend various directions for the New-Chinese style design. Regarding the research method, the background and concept of Chinese style and New-Chinese style were reviewed, while relevant characteristics were derived from prior research. Concerning the data collection, 21 season collections from A/W 2014 to A/W 2024, were selected, and 26 reviews and 1,168 collection data were collated. The results are as follows: First, “multicultural convergence” emerges as design methods reflecting social changes and utilizes diverse cultural elements. In fashion design, it emerges in a harmonious combination of culture and artistic styles, expressing the integration of varied cultures —for instance, East–West cultural convergence. Second, “historical tradition” consistently expresses Shiatzy Chen’s fashion; continuously explores Chinese people’s garments and aesthetics; and integrates oriental dignity, culture, and discipline into fashion design. Third, “temporary diversity” refers to a Chinese fashion design culture that represents the seamless blending of traditional culture and modern social values— leading the new consumer market by combining new and old generations, graffiti aesthetics on modern streets, and traditional and contemporary expressions. Fourth, “positive metaphor” expresses the intrinsic mental element and emphasizes covert rather than overt beauty. These expressions metaphorically communicate ancient Chinese legends via artistic techniques, such as contemporary illustration and embroidery, thereby conveying an active mental culture.
This study aims to examine the expressive characteristics of the New Chinese style in the collection of Chinese fashion designer Ziggy Chen, analyze the inner meaning, and suggest a new direction in Chinese fashion design. As a research method, the background and concept of New-Chinese style occurrence were examined through previous studies, and the characteristics of the New Chinese style expression in fashion were investigated. The characteristics of the New Chinese style were summarized as cultural tradition, historical ethnicity, and pluralistic convergence. Based on these contents, the characteristics of the New Chinese style expression in Ziggy Chen’s men’s fashion design were analyzed. The data collection range was selected as the range of 20 seasons collected from 2012 S/S to 2022 A/W, which was collected on fashion sites and the brand’s official Instagram. The analysis results are as follows. First, subcultural resistance is a retro and ragged decadence formed by combining punk elements and industrial styles based on the clothing styles of lower-class Chinese people in the 17th and 90s. Second, cultural traditionality was influenced by traditional culture by mainland Chinese designers, who expressed the conservative presence of tradition and the Chinese style by looking at it from an oriental perspective. Third, historical ethnicity forms a Chinese fashion culture in which the national spirit and the development of the times coexist, while traditional culture and contemporary social values develop in harmony. Fourth, traditional fashion develops by combining a contemporary aesthetic sense and lifestyle with pluralistic convergence.