Red lanterns, firecrackers, red envelopes, dragon dance, and Gucci tiger print bags… the Lunar New Year is upon us after all, and brands are eager to associate themselves with this cultural festival. 

Lunar New Year falls on Feb. 1 this year, the year of the Tiger. It is celebrated traditionally over the span of multiple days in places like China, Singapore and Hong Kong. Lunar new year is centered around removing the bad and the old and starting fresh, hence welcoming the new and the good of the year. People usually celebrate by hosting meals with families, exchanging red pockets filled with cash or gifts for good luck, and setting fire crackers in the streets to ensure good fortune for the upcoming year. Lunar New Year is one of the most important celebrations in China, and preparation starts two weeks before the actual holiday. The tradition has gained popularity in America due to the growing Asian-American population. But there is a problem here in that Lunar New Year has become over-commercialized, especially over the last few years. 

Just like with most holidays, Lunar New Year has become a time for retailers to create new products and turn a profit without being culturally observant. Every year, brands have the opportunity to create new products based on the 12 different animals from the Chinese zodiac. Given the scale of the celebration as well as the size of the asian consumer market, western brands such as Apple, Gucci, Nike and Sephora cling onto the holiday. China is the most important market for high end Western retailers. In 2018, Chinese shoppers bought about one third of the world’s luxury goods, and consumers spent $149 billion during the week of Lunar New Year in 2019. Companies make Lunar New Year products with cultural colors, themes, and motifs, with the intention of attracting the Asian market. The misconception is extremely harmful when anti-Asian hate crimes are especially high, and Asian Americans are experiencing some of the biggest job losses in all racial groups. It would be tragic if good became the replacement for the actual importance and the cultural significance behind what Lunar New Year is all about, which is being with family and friends, eating together and being mindful tio ancestors. 

When companies try to make profits off a cultural holiday for material gain, they degrade the tradition behind the holiday, and end up with generic Chinese motifs like going overboard with the red-and-gold color scheme. For this year, Gucci’s “Year of the Tiger” collection pays no mind to anything culturally or traditionally significant to Lunar New Year. In traditional Chinese culture, tigers are seen as the king of the forest. Yet the collection consists of western boho tiger patterns with the text “Gucci Tiger” plastered over bags, bucket hats, wallets, watches, shoes and more. This collection shows nothing but shallow and shameless trend-hopping. 

It’s good that brands include traditions celebrated during Lunar New Year to better connect with their customers. The best campaigns start with a local perspective. Even for a national campaign, it’s better for Chinese artists to design and create for the company. Nike has successfully incorporated the tradition of exchanging red envelopes into their 2020 campaign. This campaign is a short film that received a lot of praise online, with many netizens saying that they could relate to the “red envelope tug of war” disputes. Another example of a brand that has done well with their collection is Maison Margiela, who partnered with a Chinese artist to design a campaign that explored the cultural representation of the Chinese zodiac animals in contemporary art. 

 Companies need to stay away from making a collection based on Chinese Lunar New Year if they don’t pay respect to the culture and the meaning of the holiday beyond using generic motifs and colors. The ideals could also be of good luck, happiness and prosperity, not performative cultural awareness for monetary gain. 

 At the end of the day, it’s important for brands to realize that Lunar New Year is much more than just Zodiac themed products and red-and-gold packaging. More and more retailers are going to join in on the festivities over the next few years, and that’s not a bad thing if there is proper attention paid to the message and the meanings behind a collection.