Enter the Dragon: Hongbao to get your hands on

CHINESE New Year 2024 is the Year of the Dragon – with the creature considered the most powerful and auspicious of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac.

This can mean just two things – more babies born this year to Chinese parents who believe that Dragon kids take on the supposed attributes of the mystical being, and red packets featuring the scaly, serpentine one.

Here’s a look at what some of that cash is going into this Chinese New Year:

Lamborghini

Car lovers are probably more excited about red packets from this Italian luxury carmaker than the kids who will be receiving them. What we’ve got is an apparition of a dragon’s face made of tiny gold hexagons with silver eyes  – inspired by the headlights of the Revuelto, its first high performance electrified vehicle – staring right at you. And of course, there’s Lamborghini’s distinct raging bull crest in the top right corner, so you know this isn’t just any hongbao. 

Julius Baer

It’s all about auspiciousness and harmony at the Swiss private bank, whose red packets feature the star couple – the dragon and the equally mystical phoenix. The two make a good pair because the strength of the former is said to balance against the tenderness of the latter.

The hongbao come in two versions – a golden one with the dragon appearing on the front and the phoenix at the back, and a red version where the two creatures swap places. Handy for demarcating different hongbao amounts. 

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Tiffany

Tiffany pays homage to Jean Schlumberger by combining traditional motifs with the designer’s icons for the house. A rather intimidating dragon faces up to the luxury American jeweller’s famous Bird on a Rock (minus the rock) while other signature Schlumberger animals – the butterfly and fish – also make an appearance. Overall, it’s an impressive red packet with a more solid feel than most. But as it’s also bigger than most, don’t be surprised if recipients expect a monetary gift commensurate with its size.

Dior

The French luxury brand is marking the Year of the Dragon with subtlety. The Chinese word for dragon is spot-varnished on a brilliant but otherwise bare red packet. The only hint that this is a Christian Dior envelope is the discreetly hot-stamped gold “CD” logo on the back. Nice.

JW Marriott 

Static dragons are so 12 years ago for JW Marriott Hotel Singapore South Beach. Instead, it is putting scanimation – or barrier grid animation – to good use. Depending on the colour combination, a red or blue dragon moves and turns into a golden one as you slowly pull an underlying envelope out of its sleeve. A fascinating hongbao for the little ones.

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Ode to Art

The contemporary art gallery is no shrinking violet when it comes to its ang pow design. This year, an envelope unfolds to reveal the face of a dragon – with pop art DNA. There’s a lot going on here – a riot of bright colours, mandarin ducks, koi, peaches and gold coins – to symbolise everything from unending love to health and prosperity. And oh, the inside of the envelope looks into the mouth of the dragon, along with a wish for the recipient printed on what may be a large silver pearl. Cute.

Givenchy

While most red packets carrying dragon designs feature its head, if not its entire body, Givenchy has a different take.

It’s gone with overlapping images of the creature’s lithe body, as well as its brand logo (which, arguably, has an oriental touch to it) spot varnished all over the envelope. The red packet is then finished with the French luxury brand’s name hot-stamped in gold. 

St Regis

We suspect the designers of The St Regis Singapore’s hongbao were actively avoiding the dragon. Heck, they even avoided the colour red. Instead, inspired by Chinese heritage craft, they’ve gone with embroidered peonies – which symbolise wealth and prosperity – on pink, velvet-feel paper. Look in the envelope, and you’ll see the reverse side of the needlework. Red or not, this elegant hongbao’s for keeps.

Louis Vuitton

If there’s a sizing guide for hongbao, Louis Vuitton’s will certainly fall into the XXL category. They’re so huge, you could stuff an entire stack of new notes straight from the bank into it.

But apart from its mammoth size, the French luxury house is surprisingly restrained in its hongbao design. Only its brand name and interlocking circles that eventually turn into scale-like patterns are hot-stamped in gold on red or maroon envelopes. 

Mini

Trust the maker of the quirky and stylish Mini Cooper car to come up with something fun – and totally in character. Using scanimation on hongbao in different combinations of electrifying colours, the Chinese word for big and a heart motif (meaning “big love”) grow larger as you pull the envelope out of its sleeve. No dragons, no traditional motifs, no problem.

The Ritz-Carlton

Playing it safe – and also extending the use of its hongbao beyond Chinese New Year 2024 – is The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore. Its red packets are decorated with orange cherry blossoms as well as graphic patterns alluding to the hotel’s iconic octagonal-shaped windows and the auspicious number eight, which sounds like prosperity in Cantonese. 

The Robertson House

Instead of dragons and the like, this new hotel has gone with three designs in different colours, with touches of gold. They feature beautiful drawings of plants, trees and scenery, one of which includes an illustration of its building. Each design is accompanied by the Chinese words for either “spring”, “peace” or “happy event”. Printed on more durable card stock, you can see why some recipients may choose to keep them or save them for other gift-giving occasions.