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That's why I enjoy paying frequent visits to 1A Gongti Nanlu, home to the Cervantes Institute, aka the number one organization in the world responsible for promoting the study and teaching of the Spanish language and culture. Their Beijing branch, as you may now infer, isn't there merely for those wise enough to study Spanish, the second most widely spoken language globally – a staggering 560 million native speakers! Instead, the Cervantes keeps an intense cultural agenda year-round, featuring conferences, talks, screenings and, as it happens this time, exhibitions. Case in point: Archivo de moda de la juventud sino-española (Sino-Spanish Youth Fashion Archives), a project brought together in collaboration with the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology (BIFT) and the Higher School of Fashion Design of the Polytechnic University of Madrid (CSDMM-UPM), which shall grace the halls of the Cervantes Institute from Apr 12 to May 4.
Designed by Guillermo García-Badell, director of the CSDMM-UPM, co-curator along with Mercedes Rodríguez (CSDMM-UPM) and Yixing Wang (BIFT, Beijing), and with help on the design front from Paula Alegría Serrano (CSDMM-UPM) and Yushi Li (BIFT, Beijing), as well as Alberto Gonper behind the graphic design department, Sino-Spanish Youth Fashion Archives is a tangible result of a prolonged collaboration between both academic institutions over the years. In this spirit, and with the backdrop of an increasingly globalized world, the exhibition stands for two convergent gazes on fashion and its related industry, bridging cultural gaps between Spain and China by means of a shared vision on fashion trends and the fusion between tradition and vanguard.
I wanted to give you some additional input on this wonderful exhibit – have I mentioned it's free entry? – so I figured I could raise some questions to Isabel Cervera, the director of the Cervantes Institute, herself. Read the answers below, and make space in your agenda accordingly. Who knows, you might go there for the show and find yourself returning for Spanish lessons!
¡Bienvenida, Isabel! Such a pleasure to have you here. I don't think we've had a talk with the Cervantes Institute before. Tell us a bit more about this exhibition. What's the background leading to it?
Hello, pleasure's mine! You mentioned above the ongoing collaboration between CSDMM-UPM and BIFT. Something worth noting is that with the proposal for this exhibition came the opportunity for us to start a series of design-oriented events and activities that we will keep developing later this year. We figured that this first exhibition, which is focused on the learning process of these future designers, represented an ideal impulse that we could follow up by displaying the work of well-established Spanish professionals, be it in fashion or graphic design. Throughout the years, there has been a series of joint workshops and academic exchanges, so this exhibition is a new leg of the journey.
The main goal was one of visibility – for the work of the student body in both institutions on an international level, and then also for the underlying themes of connection and exchange between both our countries, or even ultimately between China and the West. Designers at the CSDMM-UPM and BIFT hail from fairly different cultural backgrounds. However, they do speak a shared language through their field of knowledge, which is none other than fashion. All too often, we formulate our relations to China in the context of finances, politics and economy. This is obviously valid, but we felt it is important to show the general public that there are more points of connection between China and Spain. And they're brimming with potential all the same, in ways that may be more approachable to the average person than dry data on some financial report.
I know I am always much more partial to the cultural angle of things. The inauguration is tomorrow and I'd love to know more about the way it's organized.
Sino-Spanish Youth Fashion Archives is comprised of several areas that reflect the creative process informing fashion and the evolution of these students in their academic path towards professional design. Their identities and personal motivation are gathered in sections such as "Self-Portraits and Questionnaires," while those looking for photography should head first to a section that we aptly named "Photographic Archives of Fashion," displaying striking shots by Spanish-Swiss photographer Erik von Frankenberg.
What did each of the participating institutions contribute to the exhibition?
BIFT contributed to this exhibition with works by a total of nine third-year students from their Fashion and Apparel Design specialization. The institution was founded in February 1959 with the motto "Design for the people," and I believe that their academic mission really does blend Chinese aesthetics with an international vision of design where tradition and innovation blend together rather beautifully. That's why the showcased works range from ladies' and men's fashion to sports apparel and even scenic arts clothing design.
As for the CSDMM-UPM, it is a pioneering institution and reference for higher education in the field of fashion and design since 1986. In fact, it is worth mentioning that the UPM is listed in international rankings such as the QS World University Rankings 2024, where it is included in the World's Top 150 universities in the Arts & Design category. We felt that these students were appropriate counterparts to their Chinese peers for the exhibition.
As is typically the rule for all exhibitions in the Cervantes Institute, visitors may look forward to a program of complementary activities within your walls. Care to give us some more details about those?
Sure! On Apr 14, at 6.30pm, we will host Chinese designer, creative director and filmmaker Yayi Chen Zhou, in a colloquium with none other than Guillermo García-Badell, director of the CSDMM-UPM and co-curator of the exhibition. They'll exchange insights and impressions on the topic of fashion as an international language. Then on Apr 24, at 6.30pm, we will once again open our doors to the audience for a conference on fashion and entrepreneurship, organized by Xiji Incubator. I think both will serve as the perfect bookends to this unique exhibition.
A mere glance at your regular agenda is enough to notice that the Cervantes Institute of Beijing places a strong bet on culture as a vehicle for the promotion of Spanish in the world. How does the institution regard the role of culture in this sense, and also in exchange with local institutions such as the BIFT?
The Cervantes Institute has always conceded the utmost importance to culture – in all of its manifestations – as a powerful tool to bridge the gaps between the language and cultures of the Spanish speaking world and students of Spanish, as well as just about any other individual that may hold an interest in historic and contemporary cultures of the Spanish sphere. An additional benefit to this approach is the possibility to then create new avenues for exchange and communication with highly relevant local institutions and organizations, such as the BIFT in this case. It is nothing short of an honor to create, through this project and any future iterations, a solid, tangible bond between the youngest generations in China and Spain.
For that reason, I would like to extend to everyone an invitation to our cultural events! They are always free entry, as you aptly mentioned before, and you can always expect a bilingual format for them with Chinese and Spanish. Be sure to come visit us! And of course, you can follow us on WeChat by scanning the QR code below.
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The Sino-Spanish Youth Fashion Archives exhibition will be taking place at the Cervantes Institute from Apr 12 to May 4, and is free of charge.
Cervantes Institute of Beijing 北京塞万提斯学院
Sanyu Daxia, 1A-2 Gongren Tiyuchang Nanlu, Chaoyang District
朝阳区工人体育场南路甲1-2号三宇大厦
READ: 130 Years of Cinema: Beijing International Film Festival Begins Apr 18
Images: courtesy of the Cervantes Institute of Beijing
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