The Fashion of Mooncakes

Written by Deborah Lau-Yu and Jennifer Lau

In recent years, we have been excited for the line up of mooncake designs around the world, as luxury maisons and well-known brands take on the task of impressing their top clientele with their Mid-Autumn moment. In Canada, the concept of marking this occasion has been steadily growing, while still lagging behind its global counterparts in Asian cities — where the enthusiasm and mooncake reviews clammer to the frontlines of social media as early as a month before the festival. Particularly with pop celebrities and frequent shoppers’ social feeds, their audiences are annually enamoured with detailed and thoughtful designs that have gotten more elaborate as more attention has been placed on this occasion.

This year, because of the pandemic, many brands had special plans for their Chinese clientele when it came to Mid-Autumn gifting. Likely for reasons of both social distancing/shelter-in-place efforts as well as budget impacts of global decline of sales, brands had to be creative in what to do for their anticipating clientele here in Canada, who were waiting to be delighted. Large, elaborate dinners were put on hold but we saw that the focus and creativity continued with the festival staple of the mooncake, and other unique ideas. On a personal level, although hosting may not have been possible depending on where you live, hopefully the occasion was still celebrated with a delicious and intimate home-cooked meal with your immediate families.

We’re delighted to look back on last week’s festival to share with you a curated list of the most intriguing Mid-Autumn designs from fashion houses and jewellery brands, and provide commentary on the ideas behind each gifting suite.

1.Tiffany & Co. 
Take Me to Tiffany Train Set

A hand-illustrated box containing mooncakes. Photo Courtesy of Author.

Tiffany & Co chose to adopt the story of the Jade Rabbit in celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival this year with their cheerful design of a train en route to the flagship Tiffany & Co store in New York City. In their classic Tiffany blue colour, the box arrives in an adorable reusable tote bag with their flagship store illustrated on both sides. We love that they integrated a sense of longing to be home and the journey of going somewhere — a destination with a beautiful cityscape along the way.

The mooncakes were placed in these tin train cars, which can be joined together with a specially designed magnet at the base of each tin. The wheels also turn, a lovely detail for these “Take Me to Tiffany” carts. Overall, this suite was very well done with attention to details that show respect to this much-loved celebration, while balancing their own brand narrative.

Adorable tin Trains hold mooncakes. Photo Courtesy of Author.

2.Burberry 
 Bo Bing Game Set 

Burberry Game Set for Mid-Autumn 2020. Photo Courtesy of Pat Sun.

Last year, Hermes made a rainbow-like lantern for their clientele last year, and ventured outside of the traditional business of mooncakes. This year, Burberry also chose to prepare a special game for their top clients, stepping up in originality and distinguishing the brand from others.

Departing from traditional mooncakes, they took off with Chinese dice game, Bo Bing, which is a lesser known part of Mid-Autumn celebrations. The game is attributed to the Chinese general Koxinga, also known as Zheng Chenggong (1624-1662). The tale states that he invented the game when he was trying to regain control of Dutch Formosa (modern day Taiwan) in the 17th century for his troops. A very creative way to mark the occasion, and something clients can keep for entertaining!

Sponsored by Union Capital Realty, Brokerage. — Sponsored by Valmont.

“Since 2015, Fête Chinoise has been critical of and encouraging brands who engage in cultural narrative to do so with reverence and creativity in North America and specifically Canada — raise the bar, and do things right, to put it simply. And half a decade later, we can definitely say that the momentum is swinging in the right direction generally speaking, with a greater design sensitivity and desire to make Mid-Autumn a true moment beyond Asia. ”

  3. Dior 
 Paper Art Box

Dior Mooncakes and Moon Goddess-Inspired Box. Photo courtesy of Lisa Fang.

Dior never ceases to surprise us! In 2019, they created a beautiful dark blue fan with a candle to celebrate the occasion. This year, they return with a design that is even more appropriate to the celebrations. Mid-Autumn Festival is often associated with the Moon Goddess, or Chang’e, who ate the immortality pill when someone came to steal it from her husband. After that, Chang’e is said to have ascended to the moon and her husband would leave food sacrifices in her honour.

The beautiful paper design showcases the central motif of the moon and two principal characters in many Mid-Autumn tales: Chang’e and the Jade Rabbit. Intricate illustrations cover the interior of the flaps, while on the outside, Dior has chosen to use traditional Chinese door handles with tassels to invite recipients to open the box.

The mooncakes also have their logos, which adds another layer of thoughtfulness to this package.

Since 2015, Fête Chinoise has been critical of and encouraging brands who engage in cultural narrative to do so with reverence and creativity in North America and specifically Canada — raise the bar, and do things right, to put it simply. And half a decade later, we can definitely say that the momentum is swinging in the right direction generally speaking, with a greater design sensitivity and desire to make Mid-Autumn a true moment beyond Asia.

Dior 2020 Mooncake box. Photo Courtesy of Lisa Fang.

  4.BAPE 
 Tin Mooncake Box

BAPE Mooncake box 2020. Photo Courtesy of ChiChi Ci.

BAPE created limited edition mooncakes for their community this year once again. The Japanese fashion brand has always been innovative with their mooncake presentation and this year they chose to use the colour purple of their camouflage print design. Inside the “lunchbox,” there are four individually wrapped mooncakes with a matching camouflage print. Streamlined and fun, the tin case also has the logo of the brand embossed inside! Although the set is not seemingly inspired by the traditional tales or symbols, it is definitely a light-hearted spin on the tin mooncake boxes that is true to their brand.

BAPE Mooncake box 2019 and 2020. Photo Courtesy of ChiChi Ci.

  5.LOUIS VUITTON 
 Music Mooncake Box

Louis Vuitton mooncake box. Photo Courtesy of the Author.

And one of the best designs that rose to the top of social media feeds this year is Louis Vuitton’s Musical Mooncake Box. The box design has grown in size and magnificence since two years ago when they gifted mooncakes with tea leaves in a smaller (still elegant) box. For 2020, they continued with the grand presentation with a large signature box that takes after their beautiful orange and blue packaging. Once opened, the maison’s Vivienne design in the centre spins when the music is being played.

Unique details of the gold-embossed lanterns on the interiors of the box add a lovely touch as lanterns are one of the main symbols of the Mid-Autumn Festival around the world as well. And the box houses 4 individually wrapped mooncakes.

The day after Mid-Autumn Day, the second Louis Vuitton Flagship Store in Canada also opened its doors to the public at Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto. We hope you’re able to pay a visit soon, as the architectural details and store environment is a true delight!

Louis Vuitton CAnadian flagship store opened its doors THE DAY AFTER the Mid-Autumn Festival 2020 in Toronto. Photo Courtesy of Michael Muraz/Louis Vuitton.

We hope you enjoyed this round up of the mooncake boxes and Mid-Autumn moments made available in Canada! Looking forward to bringing you more creative insights on modern Chinese culture and community and its intersections with material culture.

As the pandemic’s second waves happen worldwide, it will be interesting to see the impacts and resulting evolution of Lunar New Year celebrations. How will each luxury brand or service entity design and celebrate the occasion for its Chinese and Asian clientele?

About the writer, Jennifer Lau

Jennifer is the Associate Editor of the Fête Chinoise platform. She received her PhD in East Asian Studies with a focus on Chinese travellers to Canada during the nineteenth century. She enjoys learning and sharing ideas. Her passion is in translation and bridging cultural knowledge especially for Chinese diaspora.