When the Communist party came to power in China in 1949 there was a radical shift in the nature of fashion and clothing from the previous class driven and foreign influenced styles.
Mao Tse-tung, the party head and supreme leader, recognized the power of dress to create shared identity and the style of clothing he and the communist party members favoured became the dominant style from the 1950s through to the late 1970’s. This utilitarian and standardized style not only rejected differences in rank, class and gender but symbolised revolution and a new China with its own identity. This iconic style is now recognised as a national costume of China and became known globally as the Mao suit. In reality this suit was designed in 1912 by Sun Zhongsan (Sun Yat-sen), the first President of the Chinese Republic as a response to the end of the Qing dynasty and the traditional garments that were inappropriate for modern citizens of a new nation. The suit was based on a combination of styles including Japanese Cadets and Western tailoring and is still known today, in Mainland China, as The Zhongsan Zhuang (Zhongsan suit).
1949年，中国共产党执政的新中国成立了。毛泽东成为党和国家的最高领导人，中国开始了闭关锁国的政策。党的领袖和革命干部的着装风格开始影响普通人民群众，并被人民群众爱戴和接受。自此直至70年代末，不分阶级，职业，年龄甚至性别的制服装成为中国时尚的绝对主流，象征着中国人民的革命热情和对新政府的拥护支持。由于毛泽东经常在公开场合穿中山装，西方习惯称中山装为“毛装”。中山装也成为西方人眼中中国共产党的代名词。事实上，中山装是中国革命的先行者—孙中山于1912年设计的。1911年辛亥革命爆发，中国最后一个封建王朝彻底崩溃。中山装在保留军服的某些式样的基础上，融合了中西方服饰的优点，代表着现代化，民族独立和革命理想，在当时得到了广泛流行
Versions of the suit became popular across China during the early years of the Republic, representing modernism, national identity and revolutionary ideals. Mao Tse-tung probably adopted this style as a young man during the 1920’s along with other early Communist Party members. Ultimately the Party would embrace the style and modify it until by 1949 it became representative of the newly formed Peoples Republic of China
The garments that represent this post 1949 period in the exhibition show a consistent approach to this notion of shared identity yet also reflect the individual stories of the owners. The red lapel pieces attached to the male military jacket uniform have on the reverse side the soldiers name, and blood group and dates from the 1960’s. The female military uniform belongs to Yang Hua and was issued to her upon joining the army in 1970. She attended the military dance school, which focused on ballet with Chinese folk traditions and after five years training went on to become the Chinese National Dance champion.
毛泽东及其他早期革命者在20年代与当时的年轻人一样，开始穿着中山装，并最终选择身着中山装出席1949年的开国大典，在天安门城楼上庄严宣布新中国成立。
展览第二部分的衣物展品反映出，在1949年解放后的三十年间，人们的着装风格日趋单调，色彩沉暗，样式整齐划一。在那件60年代男式军装的领章背后，记录着该士兵的年龄，籍贯和血型；那件绿色女式军装的主人叫杨华(音译)，她于1970年参军入伍，并在军队艺校中接受了5年的舞蹈训练，之后成为中国著名舞蹈家。
Although there was uniformity and anonymity throughout this period there were slight differences within the garments and the way that they were worn.
The blue cotton jacket on display was considered more stylish than many since it was produced in a factory, in Shanghai, around 1970. In most cities, the majority of these jackets would have been made by local tailors or by the people themselves and therefore did not have a factory finish, which represented new manufacturing technology and were consequently sought after. Some versions of this common jacket had slightly better weights of fabric, which may have included wool or linen, and these would have symbolised a higher position within the society.
Women’s shirts of the period could be in a variety of colours and prints and young women would wear the shirt collars over the outside of the jacket collar to hint at individual identity. Ultimately people would own a limited amount of garments, most would be worn daily, washed only once a week and would be expected to last 5 or 6 years.
虽然那是一个集体主义至上的年代，但人们从未放弃在穿着方式的细微之处体现个体的存在。
在城市里，大部分人们的服装由自家或裁缝手工制作。能拥有一件购自上海，由工厂加工制作的中山装，是值得向人炫耀的。展出的蓝色迪卡中山装，制作于1970年，购于上海。
不同的面料也能区分出穿着者不同的社会地位。政府官员们通常会选择毛，呢等高档织物作为他们中山装的面料。年轻的女人们会在严肃刻板的制服下面穿上各种花布衬衫，“不经意”地在领口和袖口边露出来，以显示与他人的不同。
由于纺织品的供应不足，大部分人日复一日的穿着同一件衣服。为了延长使用寿命，衣服一周只洗一次，一直要穿上五，六年。
