President Xi Jinping appeared at Saturday's state banquet hosted by the Dutch royal family in a formal traditional Chinese suit, which experts say displayed the leader's national pride and confidence in Chinese culture.
The eye-catching dark blue suit, slim-cut with a standing collar, is a simplified and redesigned "Zhongshan suit", or "Mao suit" - a typical formal garment for Chinese men.
Zhou Jiali, a diplomatic protocol expert from China Foreign Affairs University, said Xi's attire not only meets international diplomatic norms, but also manifests China's ethnic style.
"President Xi's outfit at the banquet is not strictly a Zhongshan suit, which normally has four pockets. Instead, it is a type of modified Chinese standing-collar outfit," Zhou said in an interview with a Chinese newspaper.
"The entire design goes with Chinese style, but some subtleties are tinged with a modern tailoring spirit. For example, a Western-style pocket square was designed at the left chest," she said.
Lu Peixin, former acting head of the Protocol Department of the Foreign Ministry, said the decorative color of Xi's suit pockets matched the embroidery color of first lady Peng Liyuan's traditional overcoat.
"In addition to exhibiting the beauty of Chinese culture, the outfits of Xi and Peng also create a harmonious and vivid impression of a 'lovers pack'," Lu said.
In the fashion world, the traditional qipao dress portrays a Chinese woman's beauty, and Zhongshan suits represent a man's status.
"Foreigners will interpret the Zhongshan suit as a political symbol because it has typical Chinese connotations," said associate professor He Yang at the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology.
"It came out during a period when Western culture entered China in 1920. The Mao suit was a fusion of fashion and culture. It had an outline of a Western suit, but it had Chinese elements," said Liu Yuanfeng, dean of BIFT.
The blue and gray suit was the only choice for Chinese men. It dominated local menswear from 1920 to 1980. That was why many people in the Western world thought China was a "gray society", because nearly all the men wore gray Zhongshan suits.
Chairman Mao Zedong popularized it, so the garment became known in the West as the "Mao suit".
After the reform and opening-up in 1978, Chinese people had more choices in clothing, and Western suits became popular. With foreign fashion brands coming into the Chinese market, fewer and fewer local people were interested in the Mao suit and its connotations.
Even so, there are some older people who still own one or two Mao suits. Chinese leaders, including Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin, continued to wear them on important occasions, such as the nation's anniversary celebrations.
BIFT's Liu has seen a revival of the Mao suit over the past few years. He said there are many young designers and local fashion companies that want to popularize it again.
When then president Hu Jintao inspected the country's defense forces in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 2009, he was wearing a gray Mao suit in Tian'anmen Square.
The suit he wore has all the characteristic elements of a traditional Mao suit, but was designed in a Western style. It was slim cut in a three-dimensional way - a modern technique in fashion.
"It was a redesigned one. Modern Mao suits will become very popular during business occasions, as it looks formal and represents China," said Xia Hua, chairwoman of Eve Enterprise Group, which was in charge of making Chinese leaders' clothes for the ceremony.
3月22日，在荷兰王室举行的国宴上，习近平主席身着一套正式的传统中国服饰，专家称这一举动展示了国家领导人的国家自豪感和对中国文化的自信力。
这套中山装是蓝黑色，立领精致剪裁，样式更加简洁，是对传统“中山装”的重新设计，非常吸人眼球。这是中国男性参加正式宴会的典型服饰。
周加李是来自外交学院的外交礼仪专家，她说习近平主席的穿着不但符合国际外交的标准，还具有典型的中国民族特色。在接受一家中国报社的采访时，说道：“习近平主席的服饰不是标准的中山装，通常有四个口袋。相反，那是一套改良版的中式立领服装。整个设计符合中国风格，但某些细节处又具有现代剪裁特色。比如，在左胸处设计了一个西式方形口袋。”
外交部前礼宾司代司长鲁培新说，习近平衣服口袋上的装饰性色彩与夫人彭丽媛传统大衣上的刺绣颜色相得益彰。“除了展示中国文化之美，主席和夫人的服饰搭配和谐，仿佛一套给人印象深刻的情侣装。”
时尚界认为，传统的旗袍展示中国女性之美，而中山装则代表男性的地位。
北京服装学院副教授贺阳说：“外国人认为中山装是礼貌的象征，因为具有典型的中国内涵。“该学院院长刘元风说：“20世纪20年代西方文化传入中国时，中山装开始出现。中山装是时尚和文化的融合,有西式服装的轮廓，但是又有中国元素。”
中国蓝灰色的服饰曾经是中国男性的唯一选择，1920-1980年，它主宰了中国的男装。因此，西方国家很多人认为中国是个“灰色的社会”，几乎所有中国男性都穿灰色的中山装。
毛泽东主席使中山装流行起来，因此“毛装”在西方闻名。
1978年改革开放后，中国人民在服饰方面有了更多的选择，西式服装开始流行。随着外国时尚品牌涌入中国市场，越来越少的中国人对中山装感兴趣，也不再关注它的内涵。
即使这样，还是有些上了年纪的人仍然保留一两件中山装。包括邓小平和江泽民在内的中国领导人，出席重要场合，比如在国庆仪式上，仍继续穿中山装。
北京服装学院的院长在过去几年看到了中山装的复兴。他说有许多年轻的设计师和当地的时尚公司想使中山装重新流行起来。
2009年中华人民共和国建国60周年的庆典上，胡锦涛主席在天安门广场视察国防力量时，穿了件灰色的中山装。那件服装具有传统中山装的所有元素，但设计具有西方风格，立体剪裁，独具现代时尚感。
依文集团总裁夏华女士负责庆典上国家领导人的服饰，她说：“那套衣服是对传统中山装的再设计。中山装在商业场合会变得非常流行，因为看起来很正式，还代表了中国的形象。”
