Fashion & Luxury
China’s luxury consumption makes up 20-25% of the world’s luxury expenditure. In 2025, China’s luxury goods market was around RMB 433 billion (US $64 billion), with 35% of consumption occurring abroad. China’s luxury market remains to be dominated by foreign brands, but there are many underlying shifts in the market requiring even market leaders to shift their strategy.
Aside from luxury however, domestic brands are making great strides in China’s apparel market. In 2025, China’s apparel market was estimated to be around RMB 1.3 trillion (US $200 billion). Reflecting lifestyle changes in the country, fashion choices in China have shifted towards functional wear like athleisure and winterwear. On top of this shift, there’s also more attention paid to materials. Over 90% of Chinese fashion consumers report monitoring raw clothing materials more closely than they did two years prior.
The survival of international luxury brands in China will depend on their ability to surf new trends and adopt strategies aimed at preserving their products’ appeal to the new generation of Chinese consumers.
In China, athleisure has become synonymous with daily fashion, as Nearly 30% of consumers already prefer wearing sportswear in most daily scenarios. The CAGR of premium sportswear spending in China is estimated to continue around 9.7% through 2030. China’s sportswear and athletic footwear market rose from RMB 500 billion in 2023 to nearly RMB 600 billion in 2025. This trend has catapulted brands like Lululemon, Descente, and Salomon to the top of Chinese fashionista’s minds.
China’s men’s apparel market generated USD 105.6 billion in 2024, up from USD 86.6 billion in 2018, and is projected to reach USD 129.5 billion by 2029. In contemporary China, men’s fashion choices are broadly divided between workwear, which remains formal and conservative, and lifestyle dressing, which embodies personal taste and identity. The transition from uniformity to diversity mirrors broader cultural and economic shifts from practicality to self-realization.
The Chinese jewelry market reached USD 94.1 billion in 2025, accounting for 24.7% of the global jewelry market. Gold products account for 73.0% of China’s jewelry market value, with a big recent driver being investment pieces. Other than investment, another driver for jewelry consumption is emotions. Around 86% of Gen Z consumers consider the symbolic or “energy” meaning of jewelry when making purchasing decisions.
