4 Mid-Autumn Inspired Outfits (+Fun Facts about the Festivity!)

by HULA on Sep 17, 2020

For millennia, the Mid-Autumn Festival has been an occasion for Chinese families and communities to come together and feast to give thanks for the harvest of crops following the summer. It's a festivity associated with dazzling lanterns, the Moon Goddess, moon cakes, and fire dragon dance. Scroll below to learn more about Hong Kong's traditional Mid-Autumn Festival and how we give it a fashionable twist!

Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance

This literal hot dance is one of the traditions celebrated during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Started over a century ago, Tai Hang -- an area in Causeway Bay was ravaged by a typhoon and a plague on the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Fortune tellers warned that to be rid of the chaos, a fire dance had to be staged for three days and three nights during the upcoming of the full moon. To this day, the dance is still performed during the festival, with over 300 performers 70,000 incense sticks, and countless firecrackers. Mimick all the sparkles and fire with your favourite gold pieces of jewellery and shoes. Finish your outfit off with a red (hot) skirt with motifs that remind you of Chinese art.


Louis Vuitton	SALONI	Maddalena Marconi


Prada	Moschino

The Moon Goddess, Chang'e

A well-known Chinese story told about the origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival. In a very distant path, the archer Yi saved his people from hardship by shooting down nine suns, leaving just one Sung, was given the elixir of immortality as a reward. Yi hid his elixir back home with his wife, Chang'e, as he wanted to drink it with her to gain immortality together. However, while Yi went out hunting, his apprentice broke into his house and tried to force Chang'e to give him the elixir. Chang'e refused and drank it to prevent him from taking it. As soon as she drank it, she then flew upward to the heavens, choosing Moon as her residence, and so she stayed there for eternity. Though dressing like Chang'e may not give you immortality, it could give you a taste of what's it like to be a goddess. Think maxi and flowy, paired with some high heels so your at least 3 inches closer to the heavens.


Alice + Olivia	Maddalena Marconi

Chanel	Gianvito Rossi

Revolutionary Mooncakes

Literally revolutionary, mooncakes were used by the Ming revolutionaries in their effort to overthrow the Mongolian rulers of China at the end of the Yuan dynasty. As a means of passing secret messages, the rebels would hide secret messages on a small piece of paper inside the mooncake. Another common tactic was to print the message on the surfaces of the mooncakes, which came in packages of four. To read the message, one would have to cut up the mooncakes and rearrange the characters on the cut-up pieces to reveal the message. Remember last year when Celine released these logomania mooncakes? We might not be able to eat these mooncakes this year, but that doesn't stop us from putting together a Celine packaged mooncake inspired look. The number one key point is to dress in all white (doesn't hurt if your pants are from Celine!) and throw on a square-ish bag whose colour reminds you of mooncakes!


Saint Laurent	UNLABELED	Emilio Pucci


Hermès	Louis Vuitton

A Sky Full of Lanterns

As ubiquitous as the mooncake, lanterns have been associated with the festival since centuries ago. A symbol of fertility, the lanterns were used as the main lighting source back when lamps weren't invented yet to illuminate the streets while people stay up at night to appreciate the full moon. That signature orange tint to the lantern glow often comes with pretty Chinese ink drawing, why not emulate that with a vintage Hermès blouse? Completed with a complimentary blue trench coat.