This study explores the design ethics and cultural appropriation issues involved in luxury brands' use of traditional Chinese patterns in ready-to-wear design. As a qualitative study, this study adopts a case study method to conduct a thematic analysis of ready-to-wear pictures related to this topic from several well-known luxury brands, and summarizes the luxury brands' strategies for retaining, innovating, and adapting traditional Chinese patterns in cross-cultural design. The results show that the creative interpretation of traditional Chinese patterns by luxury brands in ready-to-wear has played a certain role in promoting the global promotion of traditional Chinese culture. However, some design works have caused controversy over cultural appropriation due to intentional or unintentional neglect of cultural sensitivity, which violates the purpose of cross-cultural design. This study provides suggestions for luxury brands on how to effectively use traditional Chinese cultural elements in ready-to-wear design in the context of globalization, and proposes that as a medium for conveying cultural information, the visual cultural elements presented by clothing must reflect the most basic cultural respect.