The popularity of hanfu has also led to new hanfu-related professions such as “Hanfu Makeup Artist (Zhuang Niang, 妆娘)” and “Hanfu Hairpin Maker (Zan Niang, 簪娘)”.
Hanfu Makeup Artist
Light and elegant hanfu, shiny hairpin, walked into the hanfu experience hall, and the classical atmosphere came to face. The scissors lane at the Laomen East Pedestrian Street in Nanjing can be said to be “Hanfu Street”, and nearly 20 Hanfu stores are gathered. Every holiday, lots of beautiful ladies in hanfu can be met here.
Xiao Yang is a hanfu makeup artist in hanfu experience hall. She has just entered the industry for half a year, but has long felt young people's love for hanfu. “I'm very busy every day during the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, and I need to styling for more than ten ladies.”
Before entering the industry, Xiao Yang was a teacher. After working for several years, she wanted to change careers, so she studied makeup. “Because hanfu has been relatively popular in recent years, I want to specialize in hanfu makeup, and occasionally make makeup for the bride. I think the makeup of hanfu is lighter and more elegant than that of daily makeup. The eyebrows should be slender, and the eye shadow is mostly orange and red.”
In another hanfu experience hall, a young lady in hanfu, Xiao Yao, was painting her eyebrows. She is the owner of experience hall and also a hanfu makeup artist. The post-90s Xiao Yao has been falling in love with hanfu since 2018. “It was the mid-autumn festival and my friend makeup the Chang'e look for me, and that was the first time I wore hanfu, and I thought it looked great, so I slowly started to like it.”
Later, Xiao Yao learned to make makeup with the seniors of the hanfu store. From styling for herself to opening an experience hall to styling customers now, she loves hanfu more and more. Xiao Yao has her own understanding of hanfu makeup: “Senior hanfu enthusiasts pursue imitation ancient style when making makeup, and customers have more requirements for look beautiful.”
Hanfu Hairpin Maker
On social media, hanfu lovers often recommend their favorite hanfu hairpins to each other, and many “hanfu hairpin maker” will release their new hairpins. Xiao Wei often shares her hairpin, and has gained nearly 10,000 fans.
Previously, Xiao Wei opened a jewelry store by the West Lake in Hangzhou for more than ten years. “When I opened the store, I made some accessories by myself. I have been making hairpins for three or four years. Once my friend said that the hairpin I made was very beautiful and asked me to share it on social media. I didn't expect so many people to like it, so I closed the store in October last year to sell hanfu hairpins online.
At present, Xiao Wei is making hairpins shaped of lotus and osmanthus. She has received more than 400 orders this month. “I basically receive personal orders. Because I don't have enough time to receive orders from hanfu store.”
In the past few years of making hairpins, Xiao Wei has gradually joined her own ideas. “In the beginning, I made a tassel headdress, which is more complicated, and it is not very suitable for daily hanfu. So I thought of making improvements and making simulation flowers with heat shrinkage.”
Each new style has to be made the prototype and colored many times. In her opinion, the most difficult thing is to color, satisfactory color requires many tries. And a complete new hairpin takes four or five hours. But She still plans to produce a seasonal simulation flower series of hairpins for each season in the future.
The Future of the Hanfu Economy
From scenic spots to daily life, more and more young people wear hanfu. Topics related to hanfu are also frequently on the hot search. Hanfu is very popular and has also popularized hanfu economy.
According to Ai Media “Consulting's Research Report on the Current Situation and Consumption Behavior of China's Hanfu Industry from 2022 to 2023”, the market of hanfu is expected to reach 12.54 billion Yuan in 2022, an increase of 23.4% year-on-year, and is expected to reach 19.11 billion yuan in 2025. According to the survey data, in 2022, more than 50% of respondents would wear hanfu activities, art photography, special scenes and traditional festivals, 19.6% of respondents would wear hanfu in daily life, and 6.2% did not wear hanfu.
Compared with 2021, the public's acceptance of hanfu has been continuously improved. Hanfu is becoming more and more daily and popular, and the hanfu market is also developing rapidly. The economy of Hanfu is very hot, attracting the attention of a group of Hanfu lovers, gradually becoming a new hot spot for entrepreneurship and giving rise to new professions such as “Hanfu Makeup Artist” and “Hanfu Hairpin Maker”. What other hanfu-related careers will emerge in the future? Would you also like to pursue a hanfu-related professions?