Design of the times

Earlier this month at a cafe in the financial district of Beijing, a group of young people sitting on a sofa appeared to be slightly uncomfortable facing the gaze of the cameras, awaiting their introduction from celebrity Hong Huang. In another corner media stars like director Liu Yiwei, writer, musician and composer Liu Suola and artist Wang Jianwei, were chatting and joking.

The stars shone brightly to begin with but as soon as the youngsters started showing off their various designs - including toys, clothes, sneakers, bags, and pictures - the spotlight shifted.

The youngsters were some of the 15 young designers from across China who are displaying their products in Beijing as part of The Exhibition of Chinese Young Designers at the Four Seasons Shopping Center. Opening on December 7 and scheduled to last for three weeks, the exhibition celebrates the arrival of the designed-in-China concept.

According to Hong Huang, one of the curators of the exhibition, this refers not only to production but also involves creative design.

"Young Chinese designers, of the post-1980s generation in particular, are much more energetic and innovative than their parent's generation. They are humorous, light-hearted and adventurous," Hong says.

Luo Hao, another curator, chimes in that freedom entails self-expression and this is an important feature of the new generation of designers.

For instance, the characters Michael Scofield and Lincoln Burrows, from the TV series Prison Break, become mummified dolls in the work of Luo Qi and Li Chunmei, who call themselves JitMu and are from Central China's Hunan Province.

"When I was 15, I thought I knew what I wanted, but actually it took a long time to find out," says Luo. "The mummy series expresses the devil in each person's heart which has not awakened."

He says the dolls wrapped up in bandages represent human beings today, hiding behind masks.

"People are too timid to express their true selves. We want to use the mummified dolls to release our internal power."

After graduating from advertising design, Luo teamed up with Li to create their own brand.

"We inject fashionable elements into the dolls, like the Prison Break and circus clown series," Luo says, adding that they will produce an Olympic Games series next.

Beijing-based designer Wang Yu, who calls himself Weak, is the father of WeaKid, a series of hard plastic toys.

"I chose Weak as my name because I always wanted to be different. Weak, in my dictionary, means strong, just the opposite of the word's original meaning. My son, WeaKid combines Weak and Kid."

WeaKid is the first series of products created by Wang's Toy Kingdom label, which took him and his team two years to establish.

The 16cm-tall WeaKid has different personalities, such as skateboarders, surfers and snowboarders, decked out in baggy shorts, camouflage jackets, tent-like sweatshirts and sneakers, adorned with chains, earrings and tattoos.

"Young people in China are pursuing individuality. We are not affiliated with anyone, we want to enjoy our freedom," Wang says.

He has been collecting toys since he graduated.

"I have spent more than 100,000 yuan ($13,500) on toys, mainly from America and Japan. There are famous cartoon figures in Japan and South Korea. We are doing our best to popularize original Chinese culture."

Toy Kingdom held a competition earlier this year that gave young designers a platform to show off their talents. Participants were required to paint WeaKid toys and the most innovative creations are displayed at The Exhibition of Chinese Young Designers.

Another eye-catching designer is Tong Yun from Shanghai. The 23-year-old freelance illustrator's label is Tyakasha and he produces DVD-ROM's, CD-ROM's, stickers, notebooks and dolls. He says he has been involved in many events like The Exhibition of Chinese Young Designers.

"It is a good platform for those of us who have no money or pull to promote ourselves," Tong says, adding that young designers can see their design concepts and it could lead to cooperation in the future. "It's an effective way to promote original Chinese art design," Tong says.

Multiplication Sign is an independent shoe label in Shanghai. Their shoes sometimes sell out in hours. Limited editions of 50 to 100 pairs are in different colors and are priced around 590 yuan ($80).

The 24-year-old young man who identifies himself as "DK" says the group has a clear job division. DK, who studied advertisement design, is in charge of product design. His friend, Joy, is responsible for manufacturing and Somo does sale promotion and marketing. All of them have previously worked at multinational sports brand companies.

"We want to reach a crossover line between Chinese local design and international trends. Just like a multiplication sign, we hope our shoes will grow quickly and become part of the global market," DK says.

Shan Lin group, including designers Yao Ye and Li Xibin, has a different take on the design business and has created a bag series, which is aimed at environmental protection. Like UK designer Anya Hindmarch's "I'm NOT a plastic Bag", the cloth bags are supposed to replace plastic shopping bags.

In the beginning, Yao and Li created 12 bags with different colors and pictures for people who are born in different months of the year. "As the eco-friendly concept takes hold among our young generation, we realized that fashion can be expressed through our responsibility toward the environment," Yao says.

"Chinese born after 1980 are usually depicted as beneficiaries of the booming economy. Despite the superficial title of the 'cartoon generation', which gives the general public the impression of spoilt or self-centered 'kidults' who are less concerned of their social responsibilities, these young designers share the same anxieties as their contemporaries," says curator Hong.

The idea of introducing young people's designs into shopping malls is also a fresh one here.

"It's the first time we've put an exhibition in a shopping mall. We have a plan for 2008 to make people stumble into the art, so we put all the works in places where people who are out shopping can encounter them," says Deng Rushun, general manager of Seasons Place, Beijing.

Although there are plans to invite international fashion brands and artists to be showcased in the shopping mall, Deng says the emphasis will be given to promising young local designers.

(China Daily 12/12/2007 page20)