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CAUSE AND EFFECT In December, Westwood and Mr Cheng co-hosted an exhibition titled Get a Life! at Mr Cheng’s Shanghai

PHOTOS: VIVIENNE WESTWOOD; Art of the matter

Art and fashion installations by K11 and Vivienne Westwood in China question people’s priorities in the age of consumerism

Tara Loader Wilkinson Editor in Chief, Billionaire

ONSUMERISM and over- working in China, and what they need is to be seen Key looks from Westwood’s latest fashion collections consumption are what outside of the local scene. We are building a platform, went on display, demonstrating how her political and we face every day, but a complete art ecosystem and creative hub for our environmental campaigns translate directly to her they are also the funda- generation; we work closely with millennial artists runway shows. mental driving force of our and curators, and many of our visitors are around the Running alongside the show, contemporary artist “C modern-day economy,” same age. Song Zhenxi curated the work of seven Chinese says Adrian Cheng. And he “They are the new voice of China, they are creating artists, including Sun Xun, Wu Junyong, Zhang Ruyi, should know. works very different from their predecessors, they talk Yu Honglei, Wang Congyi, Nathan Zhou and Zhu It might sound counter-intuitive that the scion of about the world, about their identity, about authen- Xi, as a tribute to a famous Chinese poem, a dream- Holdings, a multibillion-dollar con- ticity. We will continue to provide such a platform for like recounting of the chance discovery of a utopia glomerate that made its fortune selling diamond neck- young creative minds to show the true Chinese identity untouched by humans. laces and luxury apartments, should be highlighting of our generation,” he adds. “It echoed and underscored Westwood’s message over-consumption. K11 has joined forces with activist and fashion of climate change, challenging viewers’ definition of But third-generation Mr Cheng is bringing the designer Vivienne Westwood to launch art and fashion people, nature and society,” says Mr Cheng. family business into the 21st century through cor- installations in China that question the way people For Westwood, who recently opened the first porate social responsibility and, in particular, environ- think about spending. “(Vivienne Westwood) has spent Vivienne Westwood Café in Mr Cheng’s mall, China mentally conscious art. “Being a socially responsible many years tirelessly speaking out about the effects of represents a vast audience hungry for a mission. enterprise, we are trying to inspire our customers and climate change and over-consumption, and has mobi- Chinese millennials are an increasingly powerful con- visitors to think about the true meaning of their con- lised international attention around ecological cru- sumer group, making up 31 per cent of the population, sumption,” explains Mr Cheng. sading,” says Mr Cheng. or a spending group of 400 million consumers. The Harvard-educated 37-year-old is now executive Investment bank calls them “the vice-chairman of his family’s real-estate arm, New Key message single most important demographic on the planet World Development, and executive director of the jew- In December, Westwood and Mr Cheng co-hosted an today”. A recent report from public relations firm MSL ellery arm, Chow Tai Fook Jewellery. Along with his exhibition titled Get a Life! at Mr Cheng’s Shanghai K11 Group showed that Chinese millennials “are frus- younger brothers and sister, he is due to inherit a large Art Mall. The exhibition highlighted Westwood’s work trated, worried, and want immediate climate action”. It part of the empire built by his late grandfather, Cheng as an activist and environmental campaigner. added that they “want to hear about greener products Yu-tung, whose assets were estimated at over US$16 “The title underscores Vivienne’s message to ‘Get and expect businesses to collaborate with governments billion before his death last year. a life for yourself and for future generations’ to engage to address climate change”. But what really fires him up is cross-cultural with the world, through art and culture, and to inform The time seems ripe to inspire a veritable army of exchange. In 2010, Mr Cheng set up the K11 Art Foun- yourself on matters relating to climate change. It criti- potential followers who will vote with their wallets dation to promote Chinese art, groom curators and cises a series of problems related to over-consumption in the most powerful way. “It’s a war for the very incubate emerging Chinese artists. In the seven years and the global financial system in connection to existence of the human race and that of the planet,” since, he has been ranked on ArtReview’s Power 100 as the environment and importantly climate change,” says Westwood. one of the contemporary art world’s most influential explains Mr Cheng. “The most important weapon we have is public figures. He is a board member of the West Kowloon Cul- “We enjoyed the work relationship with Vivienne opinion: Go to art galleries, start to understand the tural District Authority and the National Museum of and thought it would be fascinating to bring her works world you live in. You’re a freedom fighter as soon as China Foundation, as well as on the committees of the to Shanghai K11 in a different context, one that crosses you start doing that.” ■ W Royal Academy, the Tate, the Metropolitan Museum of over with contemporary Chinese art. She and her team Art and the Centre Pompidou. loved the idea and voila! Here we are today.” “I see myself and my K11 Art Foundation as a bridge The exhibition included 60 portraits of celebrities Billionaire is the global luxury lifestyle website and that connects China and the West,” says Mr Cheng. who took part in Westwood’s “Save the Arctic” cam- magazine for ultra high net worth and affluent “There are a lot of great young artists and curators paign for Greenpeace, photographed by Andy Gotts. individuals pursuing the good life

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