Luxury brands tap into Chinese mysticism for the Year of the Snake

When Amanda Zhou, 32, moved to Hangzhou from Beijing a few years ago in search of a less stressful job, she quickly found herself drained by routine office tasks and strained tensions with her superiors. A string of failed blind dates arranged by her parents only added to her frustration, leading her to turn to her horoscope for answers. “My birth horoscope indicates a lack of fire in my Five Elements. The Year of the Snake nurtures the element of fire, which I wish would ‘fire up’ my life,” she says. She’s among the Chinese millennials who have developed an obsession with fortune telling in recent years. In a time of change and uncertainty, particularly after the pandemic, an increasing number of the young and middle-aged Chinese have turned to astrology, divination, tarot card reading, and even I Ching — an ancient Chinese divination text used for drawing lots — to seek solace and enhance their luck. According to a 2021 survey by NetEase, over 60% of respondents under the age of 30 reported exploring astrology or tarot card reading. On popular social media platforms like Weibo, Xiaohongshu, and Douyin, the hashtag #Xuanxue (#玄学), referring to neo-Taoism or metaphysics, has garnered hundreds of millions of views. On Xiaohongshu alone, the hashtag “dress code based on the Five Elements theory” (#五行旺运穿衣指南) — wood, fire, earth, water, and metal, which are believed to explain cosmic changes in ancient Chinese cosmology — has amassed 65 million views at the time of writing. “It’s a way to confront uncertainty,” explains Ava Zhao, a tarot card aficionado. A regular at the Lama Temple in Beijing, she observes an increasing number of young people worshipping Buddha. Fudan University, in partnership with video-sharing platform Bilibili, recently released its 2024 survey on the social mentality of young Chinese netizens. The report highlights a shift in this demographic’s consumption habits, moving from hard assets like condos and cars to trinkets with emotional value. Anna Liu, an editor in Beijing, recently bought a double-headed snake ring for the upcoming Year of Snake, hoping it will bring her luck as she starts a new hobby to unwind from her draining job. “I consider myself an atheist, but with my random superstitions, it could be argued that I’m just as much a polytheist without a single, cohesive belief system. But I’m unwilling to learn metaphysical knowledge, which I’m afraid would restrain my mind,” she says. Luxury brands bank on luck This growing interest in superstition and spirituality has translated into big business for high fashion houses, with Chinese consumers attaching metaphysical concepts like charms, divination, and feng shui to a range of luxury products. For instance, Van Cleef & Arpels’ iconic Alhambra series has become hugely popular not only because it resembles a lucky four-leaf clover but also due to the association of its colored stones with the Five Elements. In May 2024, the brand raised the prices of its Alhambra bracelets by 11%. Its parent company, Richemont Group, reported a 2% sales growth in its jewelry division in the second fiscal quarter of 2024, despite slumping demand. In turn, luxury brands are reinforcing these consumer beliefs by embedding neo-Taoist concepts in their product design and marketing campaigns. Louis Vuitton, Versace, Mikimoto, and others adorned their store entrances with a head of lettuce hanging from a red string at the start of 2024, symbolizing prosperity for the new year, as the Mandarin word for lettuce, shengcai (生菜), is a homophone for “wealth generation” (生财). Meanwhile, Gucci has released a monthly zodiac column since 2020. With the 2025 Lunar New Year just around the corner, global brands are unveiling new designs to maintain momentum. After decades of tapping into the Chinese market, they’ve moved beyond simply adding red to their product lines for festivity, though Chinese zodiac animals still remain the most popular and traditional choice. To celebrate the Year of the Snake, Charlotte Tilbury has unveiled a limited-edition satin lipstick in a snake-themed case, called “Kiss of Mystery.” The lipstick, described as “a mystical, magical mauve-pink,” captures the snake zodiac’s association with mystery. Meanwhile, luxury skincare brand Babor showcases its deep understanding of Chinese culture by engraving “Year of the Green Wood Snake” (乙巳蛇) on its Lunar New Year collection, referencing a specific snake in the zodiac cycle. Clarins has similarly linked its Double Serum concentrate to the snake’s symbolism in Chinese mythology—vitality, regeneration, and renewal. Fine jewelry brands have greater flexibility in integrating Chinese mysticism into their heritage and provenance. Bulgari, renowned for its iconic snake motif, is hosting its “Serpenti Infinito” immersive art exhibition in Shanghai from January 9 to February 16. The exhibition features works by 19 artists exploring the meaning of the snake throughout history, alongside its 2025 Serpenti collections. A number of timepiece brands are also embracing the snake theme for their limited-edition Lunar New Year collections. The Dior Grand Soir features a snake gliding through pink blossoms and fluttering butterflies, while Harry Winston has released two new lacquered snake watches, continuing this tradition since 2016. Vacheron Constantin also made history by incorporating the first Chinese perpetual calendar into its Berkley Grand Complication pocket watch. Other brands are bringing a fresh twist to their marketing by partnering with craftsmen and artists. Burberry, for instance, collaborated with bamboo weaving artist Qian Lihuai to create nine installations inspired by the snake imagery of renowned painter Qi Baishi. Prada, an outlier in the luxury recession with its double-digit growth in the Asia-Pacific region, also stands apart in the wave of Chinese New Year campaigns. The brand launched a podcast titled “Year of the Snake: Conversations on Snakes,” featuring five guests from art, architecture, and film. In the first episode, Wu Hung, an art historian at the University of Chicago, explores the diverse representations of the snake, from Medusa’s serpentine head in Greek mythology to the conjoined deities Fuxi and Nüwa, depicted with serpent tails and credited with creating humanity in Chinese myth. As Chinese consumers turn to mysticism for peace of mind, luxury brands will need to delve deeper into Chinese mythology and understand how it interplays with socio-cultural beliefs. To many millennials and Gen Z, a bracelet adorned with a snake is more than just a cute accessory — it’s an antidote to an increasingly uncertain future.

Luxury brands tap into Chinese mysticism for the Year of the Snake

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Published January 17, 2025

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Luxury brands tap into Chinese mysticism for the Year of the Snake