Creative Application of the Zhongshan Suit in Clothing Design for Older Chinese Males

Abstract

This series of fashionable clothing designs for older Chinese males are based on a popular form of clothing—the Zhongshan suit. The Zhongshan suit is named after Sun Yat-sen (or Sun Zhongshan in Mandarin), referred to as the “Fashion of the Nation,” who served as the first provisional president of the Republic of China. Sun Zhongshan was credited for initiating the idea of the Zhongshan suit. This series of designs retain the characteristics of collar, top fly, and pockets of the Zhongshan suit but use comfortable cotton and linen materials. The detachable aspects of the coat make it suited for multi-wear to accommodate for changes in climate. The reflective strip allows a person to be recognized easily at night and thus serves as a safety feature. Anti-theft pockets ensure financial security. The coat is designed with a combination of bags that can store objects and cell phones. In addition, the transparent, mesh pockets can be used to store drugs for speedy identification in an emergency. Thus, the suit becomes a “human-clothing-environment” that integrates a holistic perspective of design science, sociology, and ergonomics.

Keywords:

• Zhongshan suit
• fashion design
• older Chinese

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Canming Liu*

Canming Liu* (corresponding author), Professor of College of Fashion and Art Design at Donghua University. Ph.D. student in the School of Fine Arts at Tsinghua University. Among the Top 10 Fashion Designers in China, Shanghai Young High-End Creative Talents, Member of The Art Committee of China Fashion Association, Director of Shanghai Young Creative Talents Association, Expert member of the Hebei Cashmere Industry Technology Research Institute. Research direction: The application and theoretical research of multiculturalism in modern clothing design. He founded ZIGE and CM.LOOSE and served as the art director of these two fashion brands. He has exhibited more than 30 fashion design works in the United States, Korea, Beijing, Shanghai and other international fashion shows. [email protected]

Qinyi Liu

Qinyi Liu, A Ph.D. student in College of Design at Donghua University. She holds two Masters degrees from Donghua University (Applied and Theory of Fashion Design) and Marangoni Fashion Design Institute (Womenswear design). Member of China Fashion Designers Association, Shanghai emerging etiquette designer. In recent years, she has mainly engaged in research on the integration and application of Chinese traditional clothing culture in modern fashion, the comparison of Chinese and Western clothing design culture, professional clothing design and application, and fashion and culture industries.