https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7674-2404
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Abstract
The Wereldmuseum Rotterdam is planning to hold an exhibition on China in 2023 in which fashion and design are one of the exhibiting categories. In preparation for the event, the museum is proposing to use the cliché Made in China as a provocative title for the exhibition. A workshop with the museum curators was held in 2021 to question the materiality central to the stereotypes associated with the proposed phrase to inform the curatorial direction of the forthcoming exhibition. As a workshop contributor invited to address the inquiry, I have, in this article, examined the phrase itself and China as a place, heritage and concept. The country-of-origin effect of the “made in” label was taken to analyze the phrase. While the negative connotations of Made in China in the exhibition title might have an impact on the perception of the exhibition, two interlocking components—transcultural dynamics and a site of friction—arising from the labeling system constitute a curatorial concept within which Chineseness embedded in the museum fashion and design artifacts are the offspring of the typified multifaceted “China” exchange, connection, and transformation.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
2 The rationale of the workshop is to interrogate the cliché of the phrase, Made in China, and its connotations as an exhibition title. The goal of the workshop is to inform curatorial direction for the exhibition. See the rationale and details of discussion topics in the workshop: https://www.materialculture.nl/en/events/made-china#
3 Invited by the NMVW, I was one of the three speakers contributing to the inquiry of the workshop. The other two speakers were Song Hwee Lim (The Chinese University of Hong Kong) and Yiman Wang (University of California, Santa Cruz). See the link in footnote 2 for details.
4 I was Rita Bolland Fellow at the Research Center for Material Culture in NMVW in 2018 and 2019. One scope of work was to take part in museum acquisition in the regions of China and Asia. The Indonesian-Chinese dresses and accessories were acquired when I was working at the museum in 2019. The same year following my fellowship, I was invited to assist the museum to expand on the China collection by acquiring contemporary design objects including those of Kit Man.
5 Percentage of component assembly from top ten sneaker producers for one standard sneaker by country: (1) China, 55.5%; (2) India, 10.7%; (3). Vietnam, 5.8%; (4) Indonesia, 5.1%; (5) Brazil, 3.7%; (6) Turkey, 2.2%; (7) Pakistan, 2%; (8) Bangladesh, 1.7%; (9) Mexico, 1%; (10) Italy, 0.7%. Source: Sneakers Unboxed: Studio to Street, Design Museum, London, May – Oct 2021.
7 Seen as a vital part of the cultural identity for its native speakers, Cantonese is spoken mainly across Hong Kong, Macau and Southeastern China. Traditional Chinese characters have remained the same structure since the 2nd century and served as the standard print form throughout the Sinosphere until mid-20th century. They remained in common use in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and many overseas Chinese communities outside Southeast Asia.
8 The creation began in 2016 following the Umbrella Movement (Sep – Dec 2014), a student-led sit-in protest against the proposed reforms to the Hong Kong electoral system, which was seen as tantamount to the Chinese Community Party. It took two years of work before it was completed in 2018, running up to 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, a series of protests against the Extradition Law Amendment Bill.
9 Mandarin is the official language of the People’s Republic of China. Simplified Chinese characters are standardized characters used in mainland China.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Wessie Ling
Wessie Ling, PhD, is Professor of Transcultural Arts and Design at London Metropolitan University and the Director of CREATURE (The Centre for Creative Arts, Cultures and Engagement). She is the recipient of ASEAN Research Fellowship at the Research Institute of Languages and Cultures of Asia in Mahidol University and Rita Bolland Fellowship at the Research Centre for Material Culture in the Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen. Author of Fusionable Cheongsam, she co-investigated the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) project, Writing and Translating Modern Design Histories in East Asia for the Global World. Her co-edited volume and special issues include Fashion in Multiple Chinas: Chinese Styles in the Transglobal Landscape, Modern Italy on “Italianerie”: Transculturality, Co-creation and Transforming Identities between Italy and Asia, and ZoneModa Journal on Global Fashion. She serves on the advisory board of Clothing Cultures and the editorial board of Critical Studies in Fashion & Beauty, and ZoneModa Journal. [email protected]