---
node: fashion_peoples_republic
type: fashion
slug: peoples_republic_of_china_fashion
title: "Fashion in the People's Republic of China"
lead: "Early PRC dress was plain and utilitarian — the Zhongshan (Mao) suit and, for women, the Lenin jacket, in blue, grey and green — but since the 1978 reforms Chinese fashion has opened rapidly to the world."
published: 2026-07-28
updated: 2026-07-28
change: "Published as a fashion sub-page under the history section"
requester: internal
reason: "Per the owner's decision, fashion is no longer a standalone section but lives under each history era"
---

## Overview

In the Mao era people wore the Zhongshan (Mao) suit and the Lenin jacket in a narrow palette of blue, grey and green, and the Cultural Revolution favored military green and the Red Guard look. After the 1978 reforms Western clothing, jeans and global brands returned, and cities embraced fast-changing fashion.

## Key garments and style

Today China is both a vast consumer market and a rising source of designers and brands, and a youth-led revival of historical hanfu has brought ancient robes back onto the street, worn alongside the qipao as formal dress.

## Transition

Chinese dress keeps evolving, its long tradition being rediscovered as global trends move through it.