Beijing Design Week launches with donation from Zandra Rhodes

Zandra Rhodes shows her donated garments to the public at the opening ceremony of Beijing Design Week in Beijing on September 21, 2023. Photo: Courtesy of the Beijing Design Week

 
One of China's top design events, Beijing Design Week, kicked off on Thursday, with a series of exhibitions, seminars as well as donations from the British fashion designer Zandra Rhodes.  

Rhodes handpicked some key garments from her personal collection and donated them to the new China Design Museum, which is under planning by the Beijing Design Week Committee. The second half of this donation is scheduled to be inaugurated with a spectacular exhibition at Beijing Design Week 2024.

The British Ambassador to China Caroline Wilson extended her gratitude to Rhodes for her generous donation, which she said further strengthens the connections between UK and China in the field of culture and design. 

With the development of Beijing Design Week and the establishment of the new China Design Museum, UK and China will embrace a brighter future together hand in hand in the field of design. The UK looks forward to broader and deeper exchanges and cooperation in design between the two countries, said Wilson.

With her distinctive theatrical make-up and fuchsia pink hair, Rhodes is known as "the Princess of Punk." She became an influential designer on the 1970s fashion scene, with clients including Princess Diana, Freddie Mercury, Bianca Jagger, Debbie Harry and Divine. 

Since first visiting China in the 1980s, Rhodes has always had a love for Chinese design, architecture, gardens, clothing and opera, which has inspired many of her prints. 

Beijing Design Week has been held annually since 2011. An important annual international cultural event in the capital city, it is co-hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Beijing Municipal Government. This edition of the design week is set to run until October 7.