Fashion has long harnessed the symbolism of the horse, a recurring motif for brands including Gucci, Loro Piana, Versace, Dior, Celine and Stella McCartney. In 2026, fashion’s equine fixation will take center stage, as China ushers in the Year of the Horse.
Brand celebrations make sense: Chinese New Year is a key consumer spending period for the region, with online retail sales growing 5.8% over the eight-day holiday in 2025, according to government data. Mintel found that in February 2025, for the Year of the Snake, 47% of Chinese consumers reported spending more on clothing over the holiday.
This year’s Chinese New Year (CNY) festival kicks off on February 17, running for 16 days until March 3. Brands are already taking part. Horse motifs are appearing in stride at Burberry, Loro Piana, Sandro and Tory Burch, while horse-related trinkets and charms are being sold by Fendi and Moynat. Some brands are appointing Chinese ambassadors timed to make the most of the celebrations: Emporio Armani tapped TFBoys’s Jackson Yee, Loewe hired Chinese actor Wang Yibo, while table tennis star Ma Long is a Prada frontman. Others are working with local designers, like Feng Chen Wang for Barbour, Jacques Wei for H&M, and Shuting Qiu for Galeries Lafayette, to make the most of the moment.
The last Year of the Horse was in 2014, and much has changed since then. Today’s consumers are more visually and culturally literate than twelve years ago, since exposure to global luxury storytelling has “raised expectations significantly”, says Alec Hou, founder and CEO of brand experience agency Essence Group. Back then, CNY campaigns in China were still largely symbol-led and literal. Hou says there’s been a shift in expectations since. “In 2014, we had a heavy use of red, zodiac animals and overt festive cues,” he explains “[Chinese] consumers were impressed just by getting attention from a global luxury brand, rather than by the execution itself.”
Since then, China has experienced a surge in consumption, followed by a post-pandemic leveling out with an economic slowdown. Mintel points out that for 2026, CNY consumption is moving away from the less grounded, impractical spending of previous years, and turning to more rational choices with shoppers seeking both practicality and cultural resonance in their purchases. This means best practices for CNY have shifted, and striking the right tone is more important than ever. Restraint is key. Brands are encouraged to tap into Chinese cultural elements and offer products that foster emotional connections, such as those tied to seasons or traditional wellness concepts.
Consumers are looking for personal comfort and genuine emotional connection, according to senior analyst Gloria Gan. “Brands must find a balance between tradition and modernity, becoming trusted partners in consumers’ festive experiences through scene-based design, hassle-free services and cultural resonance,” she advises.
As brands work to win the Chinese consumer back, “campaigns in China today are about whether or not the brand is able to demonstrate cultural confidence and aesthetic restraint”, Hou says.
Old money brands have a natural advantage
Since 2014, the interest in equestrianism has risen. Fashion curator Zhao Yun has been on several horse riding tours to places like Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Moganshan, Chongming and Jiulongshan. She has also seen an uptick in the opening of stud farms and wild riding tours. “More people [here] want to try new experiences such as horse riding, even parents want their kids to enjoy upscale hobbies like equestrianism and polo,” she explains. Travel platform Trip.com reports a 27% year-on-year increase in domestic bookings for horse riding-related products, including day tour packages, over the last 12 months.
Traditionally, brands that lean into equestrian style have done well in China, like Hermès, Ralph Lauren, Gucci and Moynat. Ralph Lauren said during its fourth-quarter earnings that its performance in China during 2025 was a standout, despite many competitors having struggled. This year, the house’s Polo line is paying tribute to the Year of the Horse with bear and horse graphics, as seen on its Lunar New Year wool jumper, retailing at £545.
“I think it makes sense that an animal that symbolizes strength, freedom and speed, [it] overlaps easily with ideas of wealth, prestige and old money,” Zhao suggests. Hermès has topped China’s wish lists for years, and reported glimmers of increased demand during its latest quarterly earnings. This season, Hermès told Vogue Business that while it doesn’t have a dedicated CNY campaign, it is advertising certain themed products under a horse-based animation on its Chinese website, titled Gallop To New Heights. These include Tonnerre jewelry (characterized by the sleek outline of a horse’s head) in lacquered metal, Grand Gallop silk scarves, and a red lacquered-wood paperweight of a horse’s head. Here, the zodiac sign offers brands with equestrian histories an easy advantage all year.
“Brands like Hermès and Ralph Lauren possess deep, authentic and iconic ties to the equestrian world, allowing them to activate this critical cultural moment in a way that is not only authentic, but highly differentiated,” says Jacques Roizen, managing director of consulting firm DLG China. Rather than “activating” CNY in a loud or celebratory way, the brand is using the cultural moment “more subtly” to reinforce its longstanding equestrian codes and heritage. “It’s less about seasonal marketing and more about continuity of brand language, where CNY becomes a contextual layer rather than a headline,” Roizen adds.
The horse is a significant motif for Burberry, which has unveiled its most extensive collection of 48 CNY styles on its website. This year’s campaign, shot by AJ Duan on the streets of Shanghai, stars stars like Chen Kun, Tang Wei, Zhang Jingyi and Wu Lei. In Hou’s opinion, Burberry’s strength lies in “working through existing brand codes — heritage, craftsmanship, narrative”. Given the horse is a significant motif for Burberry, he thinks this year’s campaign succeeds in being “a natural extension of that storytelling”.
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Plus, as the Year of the Horse persists throughout 2026, this natural alignment should enable these brands to create content for the next 12 months, not just the Spring Festival period (February 15 to 23).
On the move and movement
If 2014’s horse year was about ma dao cheng gong, or instant success, the vibe for 2026 is around slowing down, according to Sophie Coulon, managing director of digital consultancy VO2 Asia-Pacific.
She says the campaigns resonating today portray the horse “less as a sprinter and more as a symbol of companionship or steady progress”. Coulon cites The North Face’s campaign, which showcases three spots on the historic Silk Road route, including Lanzhou, Tianzhu and Shandan. “By anchoring the story in real exploration — Silk Road journeys, museum collaborations and outdoors experiences — the campaign lets culture lead and product follow,” she adds. Brands that are just shouting “faster, stronger, better are missing the mark”.
Another campaign using movement is Byredo’s The Horse That Leads Us Home, captured by longtime collaborator Annie Lai and featuring model Xi Yi and his partner Wang Xuan. Products include limited-edition red packets, ceramic charms and travel pouches available until the end of February. By anchoring its CNY narrative in its own brand heritage (the Swedish handcarved Dala horse) and using the horse as metaphor for movement and return, Hou believes that CNY functions as a contextual moment within Byredo’s broader story. As such, the result feels “additive to the brand, not seasonal or opportunistic”.
Playing into nostalgia
Traditional Chinese customs are becoming a new engine for the experience economy, something that brands should pay attention to during the new year celebration. Mintel states that 43% of high-income consumers hope to participate in temple fairs and folk parades during CNY — this is where brands can attract consumers by combining heritage crafts with modern art or traditions.
Loewe’s collaboration with Shanghai Animation Film Studio sees actor Wang Yibo pay homage to Peng Wexi’s literary classic Little Horse Crossing the River — a fable of self-belief and courage. “The use of this popular Chinese tale for children speaks to ’70s to ’90s nostalgia, while its message of self-belief clearly resonates with Gen Z,” Coulon says. “It also creates a form of ‘warm luxury’ that feels culturally grounded.” The drop features special editions of the Puzzle and Amazona cropped bags with horse-inspired fringes and tassels, as well as leather overshirts.
Celine’s whimsical campaign is inspired by the folk tradition of wishing trees. Without a horse in sight, the campaign shows an evergreen tree adorned with thousands of Celine scarves and ribbons billowing in the wind. It is accompanied with fashion photographs by Zhong Lin. China’s fashion elite will know Celine’s loose equestrian history, while fans will appreciate the traditions and emotions evoked.
“Chinese New Year campaigns like these, which are not limited to the Chinese zodiac, can work well. Celine beautifully blends the brand’s visual language with traditional Chinese folk culture. I think it showcases genuine sincerity,” says Zhao.
That’s the type of approach brands should take when looking to regain the spend of the Chinese customer overall, experts say. With a more brand-friendly motif this year than, say, the Year of the Rat, expect the Year of the Horse to be a key entry point for luxury’s return to China.
