Keyi Zhang

Biography

I am a PhD student researching fashion history and theory. My research examines the adoption of the tracksuit in China from the 1950s to the 1980s, focusing on its production, circulation and use. Using the tracksuit as a case study, I explore how the Chinese Communist Party’s ideology on socialist construction, international trade, technological development, and sports policy intersect to shape the fashion system in socialist and post-socialist China. Prior to my PhD, I contributed to T China: The New York Times Style Magazine and was trained in fashion design and fashion curation.