Interview with Oriana Sun: The Aesthetics of Chinese New Year
Interview with Oriana Sun: The Aesthetics of Chinese New Year
A conversation with Oriana Sun exploring fashion, cultural identity and Chinese New Year: evolving symbols, personal style and aesthetic visions toward 2026
For Oriana, Lunar New Year is not an aesthetic. It is a physical memory. Raised in a large family in China, she associates it with a very specific energy: a house full of voices, overlapping laughter, endless conversations between different generations gathered around the same table. But above all, the preparation. Days before the celebration, everything had to be new… truly everything. Clothes, linens, freshly cut hair, perfect manicure. It wasn’t just an aesthetic ritual, but a tangible feeling of happiness and inner peace. As if external renewal could also realign what cannot be seen.
The meaning of Chinese New Year in contemporary fashion
Today, that same idea of renewal continues to live in the way she dresses. If she had to create the ultimate shopping guide for New Year, she would choose pieces capable of surviving the celebration: red trousers and a red scarf. Red remains her emotional color — the one that energizes her and that she often incorporates into everyday looks. On rainy days or when her mood drops, a single red element is enough to completely change the perception of the day.
Her relationship with objects follows the same practical logic. She doesn’t like fleeting gifts — neither flowers nor special foods. She prefers something that lasts, something that accompanies life after the celebration. A bag, for example. An object to use, wear, and carry with her. Because for her, style only exists when it enters everyday life.
Intercultural style: when identity and wardrobe intersect
Her aesthetic inevitably comes from cultural crossing. Living in Italy for a long time has layered her perspective: she loves mixing codes, combining Western denim with the traditional qipao, overlapping seemingly distant visual languages. Contamination is not a creative exercise, but the natural reflection of her experience. The next experiment she wants to try is even more radical: integrating traditional Tibetan garments with Western elements to create looks that are personal yet perfectly wearable.
This openness, however, coexists with a very clear awareness: Italian elegance is difficult to abandon. After years immersed in cashmere coats, classic shirts and impeccable loafers, she feels she has become somewhat structured within a precise aesthetic. The new cycle, therefore, does not mean eliminating the classic, but pushing it beyond its usual combinations, using it as a base to build something broader, more experimental, more free.
The power of accessories in shaping a look
If there is one element that can completely redefine an outfit for her, it is earrings. She considers them true devices of transformation: same look, completely different vibration. Her collection is now so vast that it requires a dedicated piece of furniture — proof that, for her, accessories complete the image.
Fashion trends 2026: influences, sounds and fluid identity
Her fashion mood for 2026? K-pop. Not for its surface aesthetic, but for its hybrid nature: Western rhythms and Asian identity fused into a unique language. Exactly what she also seeks in dressing.
When asked which style truly represents her, the answer is simple: none — or perhaps all of them. In China, it is said that women are made of water: fluid, adaptable, yet capable of becoming ice when strength is needed. Her wardrobe works the same way: sometimes rigorous, sometimes playful, sometimes street, sometimes elegant. All authentic versions of the same identity.
Among recent collections, the one she feels closest to is Spring Summer 2026 by Saint Laurent: color, feminine power, fabrics and cuts that express softness and strength at once. A vision of the contemporary woman she immediately recognizes as her own.
Fashion colors 2026: the emotional palette of the future
According to her, the palette of the future will also follow an emotional logic: bright yet slightly softened colors, such as dusty vibrant orange or muted grass green. Shades already present for several seasons and destined to remain, because they respond to a collective need. In an unstable world, people seek visual comfort. Color becomes a small act of balance.
And perhaps this is the true key to her style: using fashion not to define who you are once and for all, but to accompany every transformation. Just as happens every year, when something new enters the wardrobe. And within oneself.
