Mediatization in Fashion: a focus on the rise of reflective emotions within China's digital ecosystem

This article offers an overview on the digital landscape in China, relat-ing to the role of media in the fashion system. Within this vibrant eco-system, the rising segment of Gen Z netizens face web content and social networking in an enthusiastic and playful way, driving the ongo-ing market trends. In fact, the role of media in the contemporary fash-ion system is transforming communication, as retail practices and eve-ryday consumption and media have become increasingly central to shaping practices and experiences in fashion. This phenomenon has been named “mediatization,” initially developed in Western fashion capitals and then mainly implemented in Asian markets. In particular, the research here focuses on how user emotions play a crucial role in fashion mediatization in China. We differentiate between different digi-tal emotions and how the user experiences them. On the one hand, visceral and behavioural emotions play a consistent role in contempo-rary emerging trends, and thus characterize the fashion campaigns and e-commerce strategies of the main international fashion brands. On the other hand, we highlight an emerging interest in reflective emotions in an attempt to understand and experience consistent stories and values. As happened in the Western fashion system, emerging Chinese brands are also experiencing reflective experiences in fashion that enhance values related to Cultural Heritage and product quality beyond the usu-al screen-based UX. Thus, we highlight new potentials in fashion me-diatization to enhance consistent reflective emotions.