Youth Chinese Identity @ MIDI Festival.

My recent trip to the MIDI festival this past sunday re-ittereated a trend being followed closely by many in the youth Chinese research department (including but not limited to China Youthology, 56minus1, etc.).

The trend is simple: Chinese identity.

As an outsider with a fascination in Chinese heritage products and Chinese history, it was impossible to miss the proliferation of these heritage products or 经典国贸 being worn by China’s rock & roll youth.

As I walked around the outskirts of the MIDI festival lawn, I noticed nonchalant salesmen watching hazily as people browsed their products, many deciding to purchase things representative of China’s past. People bought blue and white striped fitted shirts known as, 海魂衫 . These shirts were worn by members of the Chinese navy and are said to represent the “Soul of the Sea”. People who wear this shirt are not only imitating their favorite rock musicians or being fashionable, the shirt is also said to bring a healthy spirit to the upper body. Paired with a 少先队的红领中, or Young Pioneer red scarf worn on the neck, arm, or leg, and a pair of Warrior, or 回力 sneakers, youth Chinese rock fans displayed their revolutionary rock spirit. Everyone’s pants, sneakers, and clothes were also garnished with mud as a badge of reverence for hardcore concert going.

Guys and girls adapted the past ubiquity of these products and wore them on this day as a tribute to their current rock and roll mentality. Rather than explicitly wearing military clothing to acknowledge revolution, many Chinese youth instead choose to wear historical “common” clothes to signify generational unity. Thirty or so years ago people wore 海魂衫 with 回力鞋子  because of functionality rather than fashion. They did not do this because it was considered cool, this was simply a necessary choice. But now, many Chinese youth choose to wear these clothes to proudly display their Chinese identity. And also because these clothes are no longer as common, they are able to individualize themselves from the masses today. It is an interesting cyclical effect, one that occurs frequently in Western fashion trends. But unlike Western fashion trends who often mash together generational trends, these Chinese youth are buying exactly the same product as their parents or relatives.

There are many market implications for this trend. Can local Chinese brands capitalize on the coolness factor that their clothes now possess? Can international brands entering China also adopt and modernize historical Chinese clothing to advantageous effects? It is a distinct possibility and we here at enoVate are keeping our eyes to both the past and the future.

And in between band sets, it was impossible not to get drawn into the crowd unity and Chinese nationalism as the crowd spontaneously burst into a singing of the Chinese National Anthem. I watched as the older faces in the crowd smiled and mouthed the words.

(a Joey Dembs production)