China’s fashionable man of the moment: Jing Boran and the clothes that tell the story of ‘The Early Spring’

Jing Boran plays Luan Nian, known as Luke in English, an accomplished advertising executive who is intelligent, straightforward, difficult, impeccably groomed and, at the beginning of the story, just as tightly controlled emotionally as he is sartorially.

Look at him in the early episodes. The suits are beautifully tailored but restrained. Shirts are buttoned. Ties are properly knotted. Colors hover around gray, black, navy and earth tones. Nothing is accidental and he seems impenetrable. Then, he falls in love. And apparently, even a shirt collar can have character development.

Jing has revealed that this progression was deliberate. After reading the script, he became deeply involved in creating Luke’s wardrobe and, for the first time, served as his own stylist for a role. In a recent interview, he said he prepared at least 200 outfits for the character. More than 120 eventually appeared onscreen.

He did not simply want Luke to look like another wealthy executive in an expensive black suit. The clothes had to reflect what was happening inside him.

In the beginning, Jing explained, Luke favors structured three-piece suits and closed collars. As his relationship with Shang Zhitao, played by Sun Qian, develops, the ties loosen. Shirt buttons begin to open. The necklines relax. The colors grow warmer. Clothes that once seemed almost like armor become softer and easier. It is a clever idea because Luke is not a man inclined to announce his feelings. Sometimes his wardrobe gets there first.

The Early Spring has given Jing Boran a new level of international visibility. The series debuted at No. 2 on Netflix’s Global Top 10 Non-English TV list with 2.4 million views and 21.5 million hours watched in its first five days, then held the No. 2 spot the following week with 3.2 million views and 45.7 million hours watched. It follows another 2026 C-drama success, Zhang Linghe and Tian Xiwei’s Pursuit of Jade, which reached No. 6 on the same global chart in March. For Jing Boran, already an established star in China, The Early Spring has introduced him to a much wider international audience and strengthened his standing as one of the country’s leading actors.

The language of a suit

Early in the drama, Luke wears an earth-toned double-breasted three-piece suit from Loro Piana’s spring/summer 2025 collection. Elle Taiwan matched the outfit directly with the runway collection. The tailoring is formal but not stiff, a beautifully made luxury item that suits him perfectly.

Then there is another side of his character in Saint Laurent. A khaki wide-shouldered suit from the house’s 2025 menswear collection is worn with a dark geometric-print shirt, its collar noticeably open. It is sophisticated and there is some swagger in it.

A second Saint Laurent spring/summer 2025 look plays with proportion: broad shoulders, wide trousers, a crisp shirt and striped tie. It is from the runway, but on Jing it somehow still looks believable in an advertising office. This may be his superpower. He wears fashion without looking as though fashion is wearing him.

When the armor starts coming off

The most interesting fashion moments are outside the office in this steamy office romance drama.

During a walk with Shang Zhitao and the dog (also named Luke by the way), he wears a dark-brown wool jacket from Burberry fall/winter 2025, layered with a tonal checked scarf. The softer fabric and warm brown palette make him look much more approachable.

Vogue Hong Kong points to some later looks: a Chanel jacquard shirt for a bar scene, a pink Dries Van Noten shirt at home and a cream Brunello Cucinelli coat layered over a half-zip knit. The increasing softness parallels Luke’s emotional surrender.

A pink shirt has particular significance. Jing has spoken about deliberately introducing a color Luke would not ordinarily have chosen. The man who began the drama enclosed in cool, disciplined tailoring begins allowing colors into his wardrobe as another person makes her way into his life.

Jing Boran, The Fashionista

Perhaps all this works because there seems to be very little distance between Jing Boran the actor and Jing Boran the fashionista.

For The Early Spring, he drew from both designer runway pieces and his own wardrobe. Elle Taiwan reports that he described wanting, through the character, to introduce “a little men’s fashion.”

Fashion follows Jing off-screen as well. He has long been linked to Liu Wen, often described as China’s first truly global supermodel. Born in Hunan, Liu became the first Chinese model to walk the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in 2009, the first Asian global spokesmodel for Estée Lauder and the first Asian model to make Forbes’ list of the world’s highest-paid models. Jing and Liu first crossed paths professionally through a Chanel ad, and have been repeatedly photographed together since 2022, although neither has formally announced the relationship. Befitting two people with impeccable fashion credentials, they have become one of China’s most stylish, and most discreet, celebrity pairings.

But back to The Early Spring. Yes, Luke’s suits are beautiful. Yes, the coats are covetable. And yes, there are enough luxury labels passing through his closet to make the rest of us contemplate the inadequacy of our closets. But the clothes work because they belong to the character.

At first, Luke dresses as though nothing can get through. Then Shang Zhitao does. First the tie loosens. Then the collar opens. The fabrics soften, the colors appear, and gradually the man wearing the clothes transforms as well.

Who knew that falling in love could result in such an excellent wardrobe?