Following a record-breaking 2016 edition, Asia's premier design event, Design Shanghai, returns to the Shanghai Exhibition Centre this March - and it promises to be the biggest and best to date.
The four-day festival was established in 2012 by UK events company Media 10, after managing director Mike Dynan recognised a burgeoning appetite for design among Chinese consumers. Less than five years on, Design Shanghai has established itself among the world's leading fairs.
The event provides a platform for both established and up-and-coming names from all over the world, while bringing together Asia's top architects, interior experts, property developers and private buyers. This year's edition is expected to draw around 46,000 visitors from 70 countries.
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Like its home city, Design Shanghai enjoys a unique international feel that blends western and eastern philosophies. The design industry is always in a state of change and the brands taking part – among them Swarovski, Tai Ping, Dyson and Alessi – reflect its diversity.
Visitors are invited to explore five dedicated halls: Contemporary; Classic & Luxury; Collectable; Kitchen & Bathroom, and Workplace. Expanded for 2017, the Collectable hall is one of the festival's highlights, exhibiting some of the world's finest luxury and limited-edition items. Among the brands making their debuts this year is Lithuanian collective EgliDesign, a company that blurs the boundaries of art, fashion and product-making to create one-of-a-kind handmade furniture. In contrast to EgliDesign's unashamedly bold, contemporary aesthetic is UK antique specialist Frank Partridge, who will also be exhibiting at Design Shanghai's Collectable hall for the first time with a display of exquisite 18th-century Chinese art.
Another first is Design Shanghai in the City, which aims to take the show outside the confines of the Exhibition Centre. Essentially styled as a separate mini-festival, Design Shanghai in the City is a collaborative effort with the Shanghai Xintiandi district, which will populate the elegant quarter with interactive installations. Branching even further afield, Design Shanghai 2017 will also introduce hop-on, hop-off tours so visitors can discover the city's many museums, galleries and architectural landmarks.
"Following the overwhelming success of last year's edition, we are very proud to be bringing more and more leading international design brands to China and to reveal exciting new additions for Design Shanghai 2017," Dynan said. "Our commitment to provide a platform to connect international and local design is stronger than ever and we are determined to continue supporting the local creative sector and its ambition for innovation and quality."
Design Shanghai takes place 8–11 March at the Shanghai Exhibition Centre; designshanghai.com
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