How did this year’s Lunar New Year collections land?

The beginning of the year usually marks the release of collections for Lunar New Year, which reminds me of a similar phenomenon during Pride: In June, retail shelves fill with rainbow items like t-shirts, pins, and cards that are discounted before the end of the month. In other words, companies have realized that there’s money to be made when you celebrate people’s intersecting identities, and they’re cashing in. But which Lunar New Year collections feel intentional and interesting, and which ones just added a horse motif or the color red to their existing collections and called it a day?

For context, the Chinese zodiac rotates through a cycle of animals and elements, and 2026 is the Year of the Fire Horse, which represents bravery and resilience. Lunar New Year is an opportunity to celebrate prosperity and good fortune with a lantern festival, a feast of shared food, and red envelopes containing money. This is why many collections feature horses in some way, as well as the color red, as a symbol of protection and prosperity.

Luxury brands usually enter the ring to create a Lunar New Year collection. Balenciaga’s 2026 Lunar New Year campaign of videos and photos captures the spirit of celebrating in community with others. The collection, however, leaves much to be desired, featuring ready-to-wear hoodies, scarves, and tracksuits that are only potentially recognizable as a Lunar New Year collection, with the color red being the only direct nod to the holiday. Ralph Lauren’s collection embraces the color red and brings in a horse symbol into their t-shirt and sweater designs, along with a horseshoe. The design feels pretty subtle and not a very far departure from their polo logo, but at least it feels more specific to Lunar New Year. Burberry’s logo features an equestrian knight, so its Lunar New Year collection includes its existing logo reimagined as a watercolor and ink sketch, often surrounded by bright red hues.

Some brands offer a new spin on their existing products or collections. Sugarfina primarily offers candies from its core collection but in special packaging, colors, or shapes that are specific to the zodiac collection. You’ll also find some flavors exclusive to this collection like passionfruit and lychee. A brand that fully embraced Lunar New Year is Williams Sonoma, which has come out with a dinnerware collection that prominently features the horse motif surrounded by lanterns, clouds, and gold and red designs across plates and bowls. There’s also the Year of the Fire Horse Gift Set from Lady M, which features an optical illusion of a horse galloping across the box as you open it. It includes crêpe biscuits, a horse-shaped bag charm, and red envelopes. It’s a pricey item, but it also embraces the theme and is packaged in a cohesive way, making it a great gift to celebrate Lunar New Year.

Although the brand is typically known for activewear, Popflex came out of the gate strong with a new dress design with a mandarin collar, signature skirt with twirlability, and built-in shorts. It’s inspired by founder Cassey Ho’s upbringing as a Vietnamese-Chinese American, which is why the dress includes a nod to the mandarin collar of the Chinese qipao and Vietnamese ao dai. These influences have been combined and reimagined with bell sleeves and a short skirt. The dress sold out almost immediately, with people in the comments on their social media announcement praising the design and asking for a restock.

If you prefer clothing that has a nod to the Year of the Fire Horse, check out Dr. Martens’ latest collection, which features red accents in the stitching and bridle-inspired straps. Tory Burch’s collection embraces the Year of the Fire Horse more explicitly, complete with a horse-shaped mini bag with a saddle pouch and horse charms for your earrings, bracelet, bag, or necklace.

Barbie also created a new design for Lunar New Year. The doll is wearing a red dress that fans out at the bottom to emulate the shape of a fan used in traditional Chinese fan dances, as well as gold accessories, including earrings, shoes, and a shawl. While this design feels celebratory, it doesn’t bring in many motifs of the fire horse; however, there are other toys, like the red festival horse plushie from Jellycat, that feature everything you expect from a Lunar New Year collection and nothing else. If you’re looking for something that celebrates Lunar New Year and is from an Asian-owned brand, Joey Dolls offers a Lunar New Year bundle with a doll of your choice, red envelopes, and an activity book focused on celebrating Asian cultures through hands-on activities.

Many of this year’s Lunar New Year collection embraced the color red and the Year of the Fire Horse, some being more subtle than others. Ultimately, what collections resonate with you are up to your personal taste and which ones feel the most intentional to you.