PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the influential mechanism of consumer behaviour and identity towards Neo-Chinese fashion from the perspectives of cultural identity and emotional self-regulation mechanism.Design/methodology/approachThrough empirical methods such as questionnaire surveys and regression analysis, nine hypotheses were proposed and tested based on 253 valid samples.FindingsThe results indicate that perceived value has a significant positive impact on pride emotion, anxiety emotion and cultural identity, respectively. Cultural pride (anxiety) emotion also has a significant positive (negative) impact on identity. The study also finds that anxiety emotion plays a significant mediating effect in the relationship between perceived value and cultural identity, which of country-of-origin plays a significant negative moderating role.Originality/valueThis paper reveals the psychological mechanisms and implementation paths through which fashion consumption and Neo-Chinese design drive cultural identity. It provides a theoretical basis for optimizing and innovating strategies to guide the evolution of Neo-Chinese cultural identity in the new context.