Denim brands are showing their stripes for Chinese New Year. Diesel and Levi’s each dropped tiger-themed collections in celebration of the Year of the Tiger.
Levi’s debuted a range designed in partnership with Clot, a Hong Kong-based streetwear label that bridges the gap between Eastern and Western cultures. The collection features tiger-striped denim, spanning Type II Trucker jackets available in a cropped version for women and a full-sized version for men, as well as a pair of 551z cropped relaxed fit jeans for men and a high-waisted midi skirt for women.
All items feature co-branded shank buttons, double-layered patches and a silk back patch with Clot’s emblematic Silk Royale pattern.
“We wanted to create something that was culturally relevant to Chinese culture,” Clot founder and creative director Edison Chen said, adding that it was important to build a collection around what the tiger represented: power and bravery. “Instead of making a short skirt, we wanted to make a longer version of it. DIY is a huge component to fashion nowadays, and being able to start long and go short is something I thought was more interesting.”
Levi’s has a history of participating in Lunar New Year-themed collections each year. In honor of Lunar New Year in 2021, it reintroduced Levi’s Red—an experimental line that debuted in the ’90s—to the Greater China and South East Asian markets. The collection included workwear-inspired garments with playful accents in the Lunar New Year colors red and gold.
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The Clot x Levi’s collection will be available starting Jan. 14 in select Juice stores and online at juicestore.com, with prices ranging from $166-$282.
Diesel’s collection also features tiger-striped garments, with men’s and women’s denim in red and ecru washes. Standout items include a unisex leather jacket with ultra-fine cracked detailing and a subtle tiger stripe pattern, a heavy crewneck sweatshirt with a collegiate feline graphic and a draped midi skirt with a pastel mountain range print.
The collection also features a unisex Velcro-strap sneaker with a fluorescent orange wrap. The celebratory line is now available online and at select Diesel stores, with pricing ranging from $14-$470.
Lunar New Year is often a source of inspiration for fashion brands—specifically in the luxury market. Retail data and analytics firm Edited reported a 76 percent increase in Chinese New Year products in the luxury market in 2020, with Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Burberry the biggest contributors.
This year is no exception. Italian luxury brand Gucci is celebrating the holiday with a Tiger-themed collection centering on a pastel-colored tiger print presented across outerwear, denim, dresses and more. Accessories like tote bags and fanny packs display the words “Gucci tiger” in bright red typography. Balenciaga joined the celebration with a range of 57 tiger-themed garments, including tiger-striped fleece jackets, button-downs and dresses, as well as basics that feature Balenciaga branding alongside a tiger graphic.