MSU’s China Fusion club is bringing a taste of their home culture to East Lansing by creating a traditional Chinese clothing rental business, along with time-honored hairstyle and makeup services.
Fashion designer and executive board member for China Fusion Qinyao Zhao said the creation of the rental business might allow American students to understand more about the Chinese culture.
“I hope that American students can know better about Chinese culture ... and for Chinese students I hope they can have an at home feeling when they see someone wearing the Chinese traditional clothes,” Zhao said. “We are very far away from home and if you see someone wearing those clothes you feel that you’re not alone here.”
The business allows students to rent traditional Chinese clothes and receive unique hairstyling and make-up applications.
“I think it really advocates our Chinese culture and we can use our clothing and use it properly,” said Phoenix Huang, an economics junior at MSU.
All of the traditional Chinese garments have been passed on from graduated members of China Fusion. The business offers two different styles of traditional Chinese clothing.
They offer styles based on hanfu, a pre-17th century style of garment arranged in a precise and historical way. Specific hairpieces and hairstyles are commonly paired with this as well.
China Fusion also has qipao clothing, a more traditional style of garment. It is usually form-fitting to the body and was first popularized by upper-class Chinese women in the 1920s.
“If a customer rents the clothes, they can choose to do their hair on their own,” Zhao said. “If they want help, and they rent clothes and don’t know how to do the traditional hair and makeup then I can help, there will be a cost.”
Huang said that China Fusion wants people from other cultures to know about the clothing they offer and to learn more about the Chinese culture from it.
“We want to get some money for our organization because most of the clothes are from previous members,” China Fusion Vice President Zinan Zhang said. “I think we can use Chinese traditional clothing to let foreigners know about Chinese culture.”
Zhang hopes that this project can promote their own culture to others and create some improvement for their club. Outfit rentals range from $35 to $45.
For more information on China Fusion and their Chinese traditional clothing rental business, visit their Facebook page.
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