Year of the Snake (蛇)

新年快乐! To celebrate the upcoming Lunar New Year, brands spanning sportswear to luxury are releasing their honorary collections bearing snakelike and auspicious details.

adidas Originals x Edison Chen CLOT Lunar New Year campaign. Photo available via adidas. ©All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.

Though falling at the end of January, there is always a heightened anticipation in the fashion world for the Lunar New Year as brands' special collections begin rolling out in the months and weeks leading up. Brands’ approaches to these collections vary, with some playing it more general and opting for the ever-present red and gold touches, while others lean into the Chinese zodiac animal for the upcoming year. 

Each of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac has its own attributes and influences on personality. Last year we were in the Year of the Dragon, which is positively characterized by power, strength, and good fortune. This year’s? The Year of the Snake. Much how they shed their skin, moving into the Year of the Snake encourages transformation hallmarked by traits like wisdom and strategy. 

Hand in hand with the symbolism of the snake is the inherent fashion of its print. When it comes to incorporating this year’s animal into collections, its versatility and stylishness fares well. Snake print has teetered in and out of determined mainstream popularity, but in a way, it has truly never gone out of style. Other animals of the Chinese zodiac have been well- represented, but there is a coolness, an edge, to embedding snakelike elements into fashion design. Sportswear and luxury brands alike have created a range of LNY collections so far, showing off both understated and bold representations meant to guide wearers into their Year of the Snake. 

To start: Miu Miu. The brand created a video clip alongside their campaign, directed by well-known Chinese filmmaker Shujun Wei and featuring Chinese actresses and brand ambassadors Liu Haocun and Zhao Jinmai. The scene takes place in a Cantonese tea house in Beijing, and the video offers beautiful, whimsical visuals. It carries the energy put out by the brand’s 83-piece LNY collection, one that unifies the high fashion and preppy Miu Miu style with traditional and intentional Chinese details. 

For adidas, they teamed up with the Canadian-born Hong Kong jack of all trades, Edison Chen. The LNY Superstar and apparel collection is the latest partnership, of many, between Chen’s lifestyle brand CLOT and adidas. The Superstars steal the show, designed to mimic fluidity and adaptability of a snake gliding through its habitat. In the details of the shoe’s design: a jacquard pattern, silk print, and a Chinese coin to symbolize prosperity. Right in line with what the Year of the Snake encourages, the collection evokes the power of individuality and trusting where our path will take us.  

In Nike’s case, this year’s snake motif has been adapted to the late Kobe Bryant’s sobriquet of the mamba. Kobe Bryant’s legendary Mamba Mentality applied both specifically to his career as one of the best basketball players in history, and also more generally in encouraging anybody to be relentless in the pursuit of their goals and fearless in the face of adversity. In both his honor and that of the Lunar New Year, they have released the Year of the Mamba collection of apparel and footwear, many pieces of which are already sold out. This collection in particular is a meaningful and well-curated fusion of a beloved athlete’s legacy and the cultural symbolism of LNY.  

Nike’s Year of the Mamba campaign. Photo available via Nike. ©All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.

Carhartt WIP’s Lunar New Year collection is an example of one offering minimal pieces with impact. Just a two-piece drop, the full snake print hoodie and shorts did not shy away from this year’s animal, and the boldness speaks directly to one of its main messages of individuality. Only available in the brand’s Australia and Asia store locations, the exclusivity is sure to add to its allure. 

Hoodie from Carhartt WIP’s Lunar New Year drop. Photo available via IG @carharttwip_jp. ©All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.

Bottega Veneta infused their campaign with historical and celebratory nightscape aesthetics. In both a clever and poignant move, the campaign took place in the birthplace of fireworks: the Hunan Province of China. Brand ambassadors Yo Yang and Shu Qi, along with actor Fan Wei, were the faces of the campaign, and they were shot by Wing Shya. The fireworks, city scenes, and air of festivity are somehow both nostalgic and anticipatory, capturing the mixed feelings a new year brings. The artistry of the images shines bright with the pieces in the campaign, which are classic Bottega pieces reimagined with snake-inspired details. This campaign is a brilliant example of one in which the pieces could be out of reach, but the house’s campaign is to be appreciated as luxury well-harmonized with craftsmanship, history, and cultural significance.

Photos from the Bottega Veneta Lunar New Year campaign. Photo available via Bottega Veneta. ©All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.

Whether a brand chooses to be daring or reserved in their designs is at their discretion. What should be a requisite, though, is the inclusion of cultural symbolism in a way that honors the rich history of the Lunar New Year. Collections that come across as an afterthought or as a way to check some sort of profit box fall short of the opportunity to connect with consumers around the world, both those who culturally celebrate and those who do not. The most effective LNY campaigns use this chance to work with Asian creators, house ambassadors, models, etc. There ought to be a feeling of reverence and purpose in the process of coalescing cultural symbolism and fashion design. 

Through it all, a new year invites change and innovation, and a boldness in fashion is an outward embrace of such. To influence purchases is not the goal here but rather to recognize how some brands have portrayed the coming Lunar New Year and its associative meanings in their designs. These are designs enriched with meaning and cultural significance that give consumers a chance to embody what the Year of the Snake might mean to them.