AUGUST 2019 ELLEDECORATION.CO.UK 33TRENDSIt’s almost unfathomable that China,
the second largest economy in the
world, with a population of 1.4 billion,
is at an early stage of development in
any field. And yet, for all the country’s
economic and technological power,
its product and furniture design scene
was almost nonexistent until recently.
‘China had a lack of design culture and
history,’ explains Sugar Lee, deputy
features director and digital content
director of ELLE Decoration China.
‘Just ten years ago, we were thought
to have no design scene at all.’ That
opinion is being quickly reversed.
This change in fortunes is thanks
to the government’s ‘Made in China’
initiative of 2015, which pledged to
reposition the country as a design
superpower by 2025. The aim was to
distance itself from the reputation of
being ‘the world’s factory’ and emerge
instead as a high-end manufacturer
of quality products. Almost £2 billion
was invested to support the creative
industries. Previously, the norm for
young Chinese designers was to study
and set up practices overseas, but
thanks to this new support, creatives
are returning home, bringing global
influences with them.
The effects of these advances can
take time to trickle down, but this year
it felt as though the design world’s
spotlight had swivelled east. China’s
rise is gathering momentum. Pioneers
of this new wave are Shanghai- and
London-based Neri & Hu, one of theThe country once regarded as the world’s factory is in the midst of a creative
revolution, with a new generation of designers attracting international attention
MADE IN
PICTURE: PIERRE GRASSETWords AMY MOOREA WONG