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What exactly does Dunhuang style mean?

Hi, thanks for the question! (x)

Dunhuang/敦煌 style refers to the art, fashion, and culture depicted in the Dunhuang Murals/敦煌壁画 of China, which are located in the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, Gansu Province. From the 4th to 14th century, the caves were constructed by Buddhist monks to serve as shrines with funds from donors. These caves were elaborately painted, the cave paintings and architecture serving as aids to meditation, visual representations of the quest for enlightenment, and teaching tools for Buddhist beliefs and stories. The major caves were sponsored by patrons such as important clergy, local ruling elite, foreign dignitaries, as well as Chinese emperors (x). Below - painting from the Dunhuang Murals (x):

Dunhuang-style (敦煌风) hanfu refers to hanfu that is recreated from, based on, and/or inspired by the Dunhuang Murals. Inspiration is typically derived from two types of figures depicted in the paintings: cave patrons/donors & Feitian (apsaras).

The Dunhuang Murals depict many patrons & donors of the caves, people of high standing in society dressed in elaborate garments. You can see many hanfu recreations of the patrons in my dunhuang tag. The photo at the top of this post is a recreation of a patron. Additional examples below (1, 2, 3, 4):

The second major source of inspiration for Dunhuang-style hanfu is Feitian/飞天. Feitian is the Chinese word for apsara, which are beautiful flying celestials in Buddhism, skilled in music and dance. It is estimated that there are more than 4,500 flying apsaras painted in the 270 plus Mogao Caves. Below - depictions of Feitian in Dunhuang Murals (x):

The Feitian in the paintings aren’t depicted wearing historical Chinese hanfu, but rather non-realistic fantastical garments common in Buddhist art. Thus, Feitian-style hanfu is not, strictly speaking, recreating the clothing of Feitian, but rather imitating it using hanfu garments. Feitian-style hanfu typically consists of u-collar, half-sleeve, Tang dynasty-style sets. Below - hanfu based on the Feitian aesthetic (1, 2):

This particular hanfu outfit below has been tucked & draped in a non-traditional way to resemble Feitian clothing (x):

Now there is also a relatively new trend of recreating Feitian costumes closer to how they are depicted in the Murals. These costumes typically consist of items like bandeaus, pants, and scarves that are influenced by Indian clothing (which makes sense since Buddhism and apsaras came to China from India). Recently, it has become popular to have Feitian-themed photoshoots wearing such costumes. Below - examples of Feitian costumes (1, 2, 3):

Note that Dunhuang-style Feitian costumes are not considered hanfu. They are in their own separate category, and are typically referred to as “Dunhuang Feitian Costume” (敦煌飞天服), or just “Feitian Costume” for short. They are usually only worn for dance, performances, or photoshoots. Nonetheless, like hanfu, they are a part of the broader trend of interest in historical & traditional fashion in China. Below - Left: Feitian-style hanfu, Right: Feitian costume (x):