Beats by Dre - The Year of the Flex

Did anything good come out of 2020? For China’s Generation Z, the answer is yes—and it’s got nothing to do with money.

When the Year of the Rat turned into one most would rather forget, and Chinese youth began to value experiences and stories collected as far more important than monetary worth, we took the opportunity to celebrate very different kinds of riches in the Lunar New Year to showcase the versatility of Beats Flex to GenZers returning home for the holidays.

Inspired by nian hua illustrations, these traditional stories-within-images are anything but traditional as they showcase GenZ characters flexing untraditional career success, uncommitted love and affection, unconventional beauty, and un-monetised ideas and influence—basically everything but money in the season where money and its perceived status matters the most.

Our special thanks to illustrator Inji Seo for the vibrant palette, curvy characters, delicious details and enough swag to last all year.