Traditional Chinese handicrafts took to the runway in Beijing on Sept 11, as artisans, fashion and contemporary design came together in a show that presented new ways to share heritage crafts with modern audiences.
Themed "Chinese Craft", the show, by Yuxun, a new consumer brand under Beijing Gongmei Group, and Genius Mom, a public welfare program of the China Women's Development Foundation, was held at the Wangfujing main venue of Beijing Fashion Week.
Rather than treating traditional crafts as objects for exhibition, the show incorporated handicrafts, fashion and live demonstrations into a single presentation, bringing the crafting process onto the runway alongside finished works.
The presentation featured traditional Beijing crafts, including cloisonne, lacquerware and filigree inlay, together with handicrafts from different regions and ethnic communities, including Yi and Miao embroidery, as well as Zhuang and Va brocade.
Traditional crafts were also presented in combinations that crossed regional and functional boundaries. Brocade bags, embroidered garments, jewelry, and decorative objects appeared alongside Beijing craftsmanship and traditional goldwork, showing how different techniques and design traditions can be integrated into contemporary fashion and lifestyle settings.
Artisans worked on their crafts during the show, with the sounds of spinning, stitching, and hammering becoming part of the presentation and putting the people and processes behind the finished works in the spotlight through live demonstrations.
For Wang Jingjing, a senior official with Beijing Gongmei Group, bringing crafts to Beijing Fashion Week was a natural extension of the group's recent efforts to explore new ways of presenting traditional craftsmanship.
Beijing Gongmei has participated in the fashion week for several years, Wang says. Its earlier presentations focused on bringing craft objects onto the runway, while later editions added themed settings. This year, it highlighted objects, clothing, stage design, and live demonstrations.
"Preserving intangible cultural heritage traditions while exploring new ways to express, present, and promote them is key," Wang says.
She adds that the fashion runway can also help traditional crafts reach audiences beyond conventional exhibitions by showing how they can be combined with contemporary design and incorporated into different settings.
Beijing Gongmei and Genius Mom have also established a public welfare space at Yuxun's flagship store in the Gongmei Building in Beijing, providing exhibition and sales space for pieces made by participating artisans.
According to Wang, the space is intended not only as a platform for displaying and selling products but also as a channel through which artisans can access market information and training.
For Wang, the broader goal is to keep traditional craftsmanship rooted in its heritage while opening new possibilities for contemporary expression.
"Chinese craft" in this context encompasses both the traditional techniques associated with Beijing's royal and folk craftsmanship and the diverse handicrafts developed in communities nationwide, Wang says.
