Commercial interest in cultural heritage has grown in recent years, supported by a buoyant licensing market.
A recent collaboration between Guangdong Museum, a leading cultural institution in South China, and Zhizaosi, a fashion brand specialising in traditional Chinese clothing, exemplifies this emerging trend.
The two partners first connected at last year’s Hong Kong International Licensing Show, a key platform for turning creative concepts into commercial partnerships.
They went on to launch a successful line of fashion and lifestyle products that incorporated distinctive patterns and ideas from Guangdong Museum’s extensive collection.
A modern take on tradition
The collaboration drew on four artefacts from the exhibition ‘Canton-made Export Lacquerware in the Qing Dynasty’. Motifs were reinterpreted through traditional Chinese weaving techniques and applied to clothing for different occasions, including everyday wear, weddings and travel.
Launched across Zhizaosi’s e-commerce channels, the co-branded line sold tens of thousands of pieces in its first month. The total sales value reached RMB4 million (~US$588,000), demonstrating how cultural treasures can become part of people’s daily lives.
Guangdong Museum, which first opened in 1959, has more than 320,000 items in its collection. Its depth of curation, research expertise and public profile have made it an attractive partner for licensing projects.
Zhizaosi, which launched in 2020, aims to bring classic Chinese aesthetics into contemporary life, blending traditional silk weaving with modern textile technology.
From exhibits to consumer products
The partnership extended beyond apparel to cushions, shoulder bags and traditional circular fans, known as tuanshan, drawing on designs from the museum’s Black Lacquer and Gilt Eight-panel Screen with Gold Dragon Boat Race Scene.
These items referenced gold-weaving craftsmanship associated with Nanjing Yunjin brocade, a silk weaving technique that has been recognised as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO.
By presenting cultural heritage as stylish, practical and accessible, especially for younger buyers, this diverse range of products broadened the collection’s appeal beyond core Hanfu consumers – people with an active interest in traditional Chinese clothes.
The partnership shows how cultural IP can be turned into viable consumer products when paired with good design, storytelling and market-ready execution.
It also reflects a wider shift, with traditional Chinese culture becoming more visible in daily life through contemporary, wearable and commercially scalable applications.
Zhizaosi’s own market position reinforced this success. The brand recorded more than RMB500 million (~US$74 million) in sales in 2024, after being named one of Forbes China’s Top 100 Emerging Brands in 2023.
This underscores the scale that heritage-led branding can achieve when supported by strong product development, digital sales capabilities and a clear market strategy.
Hong Kong as an IP trading hub
As a mature and sophisticated licensing market, Hong Kong has long played a strategic role in IP trading across Asia.
This year’s Hong Kong International Licensing Show and the Asian Licensing Conference, both organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, gathered more than 330 exhibitors and over 600 brands and licensing projects.
More than 150 organisations joined the Chinese Mainland Pavilion, including Guangdong Museum, Nanjing Museum and the Xu Beihong Memorial Museum, highlighting the richness and depth of the nation’s cultural resources.