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Ashlyn Chak

Cheongsam or hanfu? Despite the former being more universally popular, Gong Pan Pan, a Singaporean-Chinese fashion historian and designer, would opt for hanfu, as the historical traditional Chinese attire best fits her body type.
“Cheongsams are very body-fitting – you can’t go to a buffet in those tight garments. And I have narrow shoulders, so I’d look like I have a huge head in a cheongsam,” she explains. “In hanfu, the sleeves extend as one piece from the shoulder downwards, adding a volume that balances proportions.”
Gong, 40, is on a mission to revive hanfu with a culturally conscious yet contemporary take.
On Instagram, she publishes content as Hanfugirl about her “material-led research, myth-busting and long-form storytelling” work. One of her most popular videos, which differentiates between the effects of traditional Chinese pattern-cutting and Western silhouettes, has garnered 198,000 likes and 2.9 million views.
She also designs and sells hanfu-inspired modern clothing at HFG Atelier, her studio in Singapore, in a practice that began unexpectedly more than 10 years ago.

Gong was born in Changsha, in China’s Hunan province, and raised in Singapore from the age of six. She first became acquainted with Chinese fashion history in late 2015, when she got married and travelled to China for a photo shoot.
It was not only for practical and aesthetic reasons that Gong was drawn to hanfu over cheongsam; the latter, also known as qipao, does not have as long a history.
Inspired by Manchu ethnic garments popular during the Qing dynasty (1644-1912), the cheongsam was developed in the 1910s and 20s as a result of Western influences. The hanfu, on the other hand, was worn by China’s majority Han people from at least the second millennium BC, though it evolved over the dynastic centuries.
Upon her return to Singapore, Gong read up on the historical aspects of traditional Chinese fashion.
“I initially went in because of vanity, because it looked nice, but I went down a rabbit hole of other material cultures like incense, tea and instruments,” she says. “I realised there’s a different way to look into Chinese culture and history that may be more accessible [than] through conquest and war history.”
At first, she wore complete hanfu sets in public, much like many people have done amid the hanfu revival that has swept through mainland China’s youth in recent years. Eventually, however, she adapted her style to Singapore’s hot weather, finding it more important for her hanfu-inspired pieces to “integrate into my lifestyle, as well as the heritage around Singapore”.

Through her work, Gong plans to address popular misconceptions surrounding traditional Chinese garments. She says that not only did cheongsam tailors in the 1950s use sari fabrics, but Chinese people in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) imported a lot of Indian fabrics for their hanfu.
“There was all this mirroring and a cultural, historical dialogue that I thought was interesting and important,” she says. “We live in an increasingly divisive world, but for the longest time, we all were interacting and influencing each other. We don’t have to be overprotective about [our cultures].”
She is most drawn to the Tang dynasty (618-907), citing an especially welcoming attitude towards foreigners that she thinks gave rise to a cultural diversity that people today can learn from.
In a similar vein, her ever-expanding collection encompasses period-accurate homages as well as modern, culture-mixing garments reimagined from traditional Han Chinese constructions, including the mamianqun (the “horse-face” wraparound skirt), the banbi (the “half-arm” upper garment) and the zhuyao (a women’s undergarment for the torso). She uses mostly second-hand fabrics sourced across Asia, such as ramie, damask, sari, kimono obis and songket.

Interestingly, her goal is “not to make it look too Chinese at first glance”. Rather than featuring obvious symbols of Chineseness, such as mandarin collars and pankou (“frog” buttons), her clothing takes a deeper dive into traditional Chinese draping, fitting, pattern-making and other lesser-known details she stumbles upon in her ongoing research.
“Chinese garments are generally flat-cutting, but they’re not just flat,” she says. “If you ask a Western-trained tailor to make a Chinese garment, it’s going to look weird. I actually work with five or six tailors for different tasks because of hanfu’s big emphasis on details.
“Hanfu is one-size-fits-many as the ancient people used tie strings to secure clothing; they weren’t really big on fit. Traditionally, clothes were tailored but remained flexible to pass down to descendants, because fabric was extremely precious – it was about not wasting it and trying to maximise it as much as possible.”
At HFG Atelier, Gong offers a small number of ready-to-wear designs and recreations, but she mostly specialises in bespoke commissions for clothing, accessories and jewellery. In fact, her working philosophy is not too far from that of the ancient Chinese.
“I like to think about things, talk about things and then slowly get them made,” she says. “I’m lucky enough to have clients willing to wait for it, but the contemporary idea of having a ready-made stock within one or two days of ordering, it kind of counters my traditional practice.
“I do make a few things for people to buy, but it’s really more on a commission basis. I want my clients to feel a bit of ownership and express some kind of individuality. It’s more meaningful that way.”

As for her own meaning, her online videos have become a way to document her research and to give life to her work beyond making clothes as she reconnects with her Chinese heritage.
“My parents came from the generation that went through the Cultural Revolution, so they didn’t have anything historical,” she says. “My first ethnic traditional garment was a sari when I came to Singapore [as a child], so I sort of [grew up] straddling between two different identities.
“I didn’t study Chinese history as a student, but clothes are not just about fabrics or garments – it’s about the history and culture behind them.”


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How Singapore’s Hanfugirl Gong Pan Pan is putting a modern spin on ancient Chinese fashion

Gong Pan Pan was born in Changsha, in China, but immigrated with her parents to Singapore when she was six years old. Gong Pan Pan is working on reviving hanfu for the contemporary consumer. Photo: Gong Pan Pan

A model wears a look by Gong Pan Pan. Photo: Gong Pan Pan

Looks by Gong, who makes use of lesser-known authentic styles from the Tang and Qing dynasties. Photos: Gong Pan Pan

Gong often upcycles deadstock textiles from across Asia, including vintage Japanese kimono obis, Indian sari silks and Malay woven gold fabrics. Photos: Gong Pan Pan

Accessories and jewellery by Gong, which she says she handcrafts as part of her exploration of material culture. Photos: Gong Pan Pan

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Fashion & Beauty

Chinese-born fashion historian and designer Gong Pan Pan is reimagining the hanfu for the contemporary world


Chinese-born fashion historian and designer Gong Pan Pan is reimagining the hanfu for the contemporary world.


Fashion

How Singapore’s Hanfugirl Gong Pan Pan is putting a modern spin on ancient Chinese fashion

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Chinese-born fashion historian and designer Gong Pan Pan is reimagining the hanfu for the contemporary world

Chinese-born fashion historian and designer Gong Pan Pan is reimagining the hanfu for the contemporary world