Dongbei dahua has been a popular print for blanket covers and bed sheets for a long time in Northern China, especially in rural areas, thus making it a part of Chinese people’s collective memories.

In 2014, Hu transformed the ubiquitous print from his childhood memories into his first Dongbei Dahua-themed collection Dahuaao (big flower cotton-padded jacket). The recent years have witnessed viral short videos in which influencers strut in Hu’s Dongbei dahua-themed clothes on the streets around the world, catapulting the once controversial print to national prominence.