Luxury brand MCM has collaborated with five Chinese contemporary artists — Gao Yu, Hang Chunhun, Huang Ying, Liu Kun and Xu Hualing — to explore Chinese heritage crafts and create a collection of scarves, the Cultural Heritage Collection. The scarves reflect the artists different styles and techniques. Inspired by Longquan celadon ceramics, Gao Yu came up with a light green scarf that recalls the monochrome glazed porcelain of the Song Dynasty, but gave it a contemporary twist with skull images.

Hang Chunhui focused on the production of Xuan (rice) paper, representing key tools such as scissors and leather aprons, on a vivid orange background using fine brush strokes.

Huang Ying was inspired by the colors and lights of traditional Beijing shadow shows. Using a combination of human bones and dragonfly images, the artist transferred mottled colors and images to create a contemporary visual language in her scarf design.

Liu Kun chose “lucky clouds” patterns over woodblock-printed characters for the design of his green and gold scarf, while Xu Hualing found inspiration in the Nanjing Brocade, which is renowned for its complicated manufacturing process and exquisite hand-embroideries.