Resignifying Fashion: Valentino’s Beijing Exhibition

Resignify: to look at what you know with a new lens. Valentino is unveiling the second chapter of the multimedia experience, this time in Beijing’s SKP South’s T-10 exhibition space.

Credit: Valentino

Re-Signify Part Two exemplifies creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli’s personal work process by which the signs of today create signs of tomorrow. It circulates around four pillars of Valentino’s identity – Haute Couture, the Atelier, the Stud, and the VLogo. An additional room dedicated to Valentino’s newly launched beauty line will also be featured this time.

The exhibition contrasts objects from Valentino’s archive. It includes the work of 18 contemporary artists. Artists include Cao Fei, Xu Zhen, Gioele Amaro, Robert Müller, Liu Shiyuan, Cheng Ran, Shen Xin, Xu Wenkai, Amkk, Jonas Mekas, Yeesookyung, Nick Knight, Jacopo Benassi, Pajama, Robert Del Naja, Wu Rui, and Alessandro Teoldi.

The result is an immersive dive into the brand’s creative dictionary as it explores its own iconic symbolism to its external contemporary influences.

Fashion in the Modern World

Re-Signify Part Two is a thought-provoking examination of two topics – the role of clothing in contemporary culture and the impact of the modern city on our consumption of fashion.

Studded bag in black show set at fashion exhibition
Image: Wallpaper

The transformative power of clothing is examined by the renowned Chinese artist Cao Fei. Similarly, Cheng Ran’s Diary of a Madman is a multi-video installation.

To complement the gloomy atmosphere created by Cheng’s work, the art is set alongside four pieces from the ready-to-wear Valentino Act Collection. Whereas, Artist Haze and Fog (2013) creates a magical city in which people and zombies co-exist.

As Piccioli said on the occasion of Re-signify Part I,

“Choosing Shanghai means dealing with a people who ignore the long history of the Valentino Maison. After all, what is not known is new. It will be interesting to observe the developments in terms of communication and human contact.”

Within the Beijing exhibition, visitors will be able to walk through different moments from the Maison’s history, not just in a chronological display but with a real emotional underscore. The exhibition provides a new perspective on the function of clothing in contemporary society.

Take a look at some of the exciting new exhibitions below:

Valentino Re-Signify Part Two is running at Beijing’s SKP South’s T-10 exhibition space until November 7, 2021.

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