Does it make sense to talk about Chinese style today? Is there an original sense of beauty with Chinese characteristics? What new and original contribution can the Chinese experience bring to the global discourse on beauty? The result of twenty years of experience in coolhunting and cult searching, and of a three-year ad hoc research involving artists, entrepreneurs, creatives, political and cultural figures, as well as common consumers, the essay explores the relevance of the debate on ‘ Chinese style’ today, in the broader framework of the search for a contemporary Chinese identity

Alessandro De Toni, 1977, coolhunter, independent ethnographic researcher, former journalist and researcher for television and radio productions in China, began frequenting China in 1998, and lived permanently in Beijing from 2008 to 2021. Thanks to an academic training in cross-cultural psychology and a deep knowledge of Chinese language and culture he was a pioneer of ethnographic research and coolhunting in China. As an independent researcher he has conducted numerous research for international companies, assisting them in understanding the Chinese market through photographic research, media research, in-depth interviews and other phenomenological observation tools. In his role as a journalist, he collaborated in the production of hundreds of news and factuals on China, interviewing prominent figures from politics to contemporary art.