Opinion Why are young people in China dressing up like civil servants?

In the style-obsessed corners of the Chinese internet, which teem with evidence of Gen Z’s passion for big-name brands and cutting-edge global fashion, a new trend in conservative clothing is gaining in popularity. Young men have been posting photos of themselves in clothes of the kind that are worn by their fathers, and earning admiration for their on-trend looks.

Called “ting ju feng” or “office and bureau style”, this new trend celebrates what is seen as the cadre or bureaucrat look: Neatly tucked-in shirt, oversized trousers and dark blue jacket, with the only concession to visual flair coming from the red Chinese Communist Party pin in the chest. Chinese youth are not unique in embracing the garments of those older and decidedly less stylish than them — consider, for example, the baggy “mom” jeans which are among the hottest items of clothing right now around the world, or the “normcore” aesthetic that swept the world a few years ago.

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But beyond the mechanics of the fashion cycle — in today, out tomorrow, back in day-after — can be read the signs of a society and culture in flux. Some Chinese youngsters have described the cadre look as projecting a “mature” and “reliable” appearance. So does the new trend hint at a search for stability in a world thrown out of gear? An attempt to look responsible enough for a job in an economy that has yet to recover from the shock of Covid-19? Is this adoption of a pared-down aesthetic a backlash against the excesses of the years leading up to the pandemic? Most likely, though, this adoption of what is essentially a uniform is just the result of decision paralysis, thanks to a surfeit of choice — in other words, simply the problem of “so many clothes, but nothing to wear”.