The 6 best collections of fashion brands for the Year of the Tiger

The capsules that celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year have now become a classic for contemporary fashion – especially in a world where the commercial weight of Chinese customers, increasingly fond of luxury fashion, are preparing to become decisive for the success of any designer's collections. But these collections are also an excellent opportunity for brands to put themselves to the test, experimenting with new patterns and designs inspired from time to time by the animal that becomes the symbol of each lunar year. 2022 is the year of the Tiger, an animal that represents strength and courage, whose figure and striped coat are loved by designers of all ages and origins. Each brand has interpreted the visual theme of the tiger differently this year, with collections that have won the attention of the public both inside and outside China. 

Here are the 6 best collections of fashion brands for the Year of the Tiger.

1. Gucci

To be a brand linked to the equestrian world, Gucci is very familiar with tigers. The brand had already included several examples in its SS17 campaign, but it is in the very recent campaign for the new Chinese New Year that things are brought to the next level with a series of shots that portray models and models during an afternoon tea, surrounded by pastries in an opulent local all marble and Corinthian columns,  and surrounded by real tigers. The main protagonists of the capsule are the leather goods and streetwear items with the exclusive Gucci Tiger branding but the most attractive pieces are certainly those decorated with a pattern of running tigers designed in the 60s by Vittorio Accornero – the author of the famous Flora print.

 2. Balenciaga

Pablo Rochat and Chris Maggio have signed for Balenciaga a series of family-themed videos in which we see different generations of a family that, based on a perspective error, seem to form surreal silhouettes with overlapping faces and legs. The idea behind the campaign is to replicate the perspective distortion effects that have become protagonists of various online memes over the years but also to create a family atmosphere by showing different family members in the same home environment. 

3. Marni

Marni celebrated the Year of the Tiger with a collaboration with Venezuelan artist Magdalena Suarez Frimkess, who signed together with the brand a series of accessories and limited edition ready-to-wear garments that transforms the artist's illustrations into prints, embroidery and jacquard motifs. The Chinese New Year collection features several iterations of a tiger designed with a naïve touch, on an original motif by Magdalena Suarez, on blouses, skirts and bags, accessories and jewelry – but the cult piece is certainly Marni's famous mohair sweater covered with a brindle pattern.

4. Dolce & Gabbana

For their collection dedicated to the Chinese New Year 2022, Dolce & Gabbana have signed a family-wide capsule that combines the brand's Leopardo archive print with new graphics dedicated to the Chinese zodiac sign of the tiger. The prints are applied on a range of maximalist colored dresses that include fabrics such as brocade jacquard, charmeuse but also technical fabrics for the more sportswear-flavored side of the collection - which also includes a themed version of famous bags such as the Dolce Box and the DG Daily.

5. Dior

For its capsule collection, Dior has returned to collaborate with Kenny Scharf who has created an unprecedented reinterpretation of the image of the tiger inspired by 90s art. In all the items of the collection, the image of the tiger signed by Scharf gradually becomes print, embroidery or patch, on shirts, sweaters, jeans and down jackets declined in a series of blue, white and red colowrways – auspicious color in Chinese culture but also much loved by the founder Christian Dior.

6. Prada

For its collection, Prada presented a campaign and project called Action in the Year of the Tiger dedicated to the preservation of tigers in nature. The protagonists of the campaign are the actor and singer Li Yifeng and the actress Chun Xia, photographed by Liu Song – in addition to the photos, the brand has addressed an invitation to young Chinese and international art students for the creation of works inspired by the visual theme of the tiger that will be selected by a special jury formed by Liu Ye artists,  Goshka Macuga and Lu Yang and will be part of a special project during 2022. The Prada Group has also dedicated a charity activity to the China Green Foundation's Walking with Tiger and Leopard programme for the protection of the Amur tiger – an endangered species.