China Fashion Week 2024 Spring/Summer stomped down the Beijing catwalk from September 7 to 16. Staging more than 130 fashion events during the week, the incorporation of traditional Chinese elements appeared to be the red thread running throughout this season's collections. 

Designer Han Qi's Pastoral Poetry menswear brand, for instance, staged a show with 56 models wearing designs that integrated intangible cultural elements from all of China's 56 ethnic groups, from plant dyeing techniques to silver jewelry. 

Designer Wang Zifei presented a show themed Punk 1279, which mixed 1970s Western punk styles with a hint of Song Dynasty (960-1279) culture. The year 1279 was the year the Song fell. The Song ruled China during one of the country's most brilliant cultural epochs. 

Saint Joy, by designer Bian Huizhong, also brought a sense of juxtaposition to the podium. The clothes seemed to reflect the theme of space, but their aesthetic was in fact based on an ancient Chinese cosmological diagram. The fabric used was Song brocade, one of China's four most famous brocades. 

Wedding dress brand Loolayy, then, presented strong and pure Chinese styles. Inspired by Dunhuang, the city in Gansu Province known for the Mogao Caves, a treasure trove of Buddhist art from the fourth century to the 14th century, designer Zhang Xiaoqi used traditional techniques such as flat stitch embroidery. Patterns, in turn, highlighted typical Dunhuang elements such as lotuses and tangled branches. 

All in all, this fashion week had a cultural spring in its stomp.  

(Text and photos by Wei Yao) 

Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon 

Comments to weiyao@cicgamericas.com