Burberry unveils beautiful Chinese chess art pieces in a nod to tradition and culture

Burberry has partnered with local artists in China to create the "Burberry Generation" project which includes Chinese chess art pieces by local artists. Burberry Generation is a project that celebrates the creativity of the younger generation of artists in China. Its current work, "Chinese Chess" comes in light of the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year, paying tribute to an important part of "Chinese traditional culture history and wisdom".

The Chess pieces are the latest installation following "Balancing Art" which was launched in June last year. Burberry worked with artists Chen Yingze and Du Meng, who each created their own interpretations of Chinese chess.

Burberry China worked with Media.Monks for this campaign.  Media.Monks then collaborated with the artists to create the chess pieces, and later the short films, which kept the authenticity of the artists' expressions while staying relevant to the brand and celebrating the traditional culture in an artistic way.  Soup Wong, senior art director of Media.Monks, said that through the talks with the artists, the agency was able to get to know them more upfront and personal. "Creating the work becomes easier and better as the artists’ stories open up, making the storyline clearer," he added.

The short film In the Game portrays Chen's love for the connection between texture and nature. The video focuses on his craftmanship of the chess pieces, as well as how the pieces reflect the surrounding nature. Chen said, "When you are in the game, you are reflecting the world while reflecting yourself.”

Meanwhile, Can We Play Chess Together? shows Du use her old buttons for her art piece. Using Burberry’s Monogram cloth as the chessboard and glass buttons as chess pieces, the softness of the cloth and the fragility of the glass represent that the game of chess is not always competitive, but can be gentle as well, according to Du. Furthermore, the buttons, which hold memorable stories, serve to remind Du of those memories. "What matters more is not winning the game, but whom you play it with," she said.

Both art pieces are currently exhibited in the first anniversary exhibition of Burberry Generation Project in TX Huaihai, Shanghai.

Last year, Burberry released a film for Chinese New Year with an inspiring message of renewal. Created by BBH China, A New Awakening was directed by Derek Tsang and starred Burberry brand ambassadors Zhou Dongyu and Song Weilong as they venture out "on a journey of discovery and renewal, framed by the five senses." The film also reflected Burberry's storied history with the great outdoors, once a popular outfitter for fishermen and hunters long before gracing red carpets and high fashion runways around the world.

Separately, Italian fashion brand Bottega Veneta recently transformed a part of the Great Wall of China to celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year. To celebrate the festive season, the brand unveiled some images of the bird-eye view of the Great Wall of China. The tourist attraction showcases the name of the brand and "Happy Chinese New Year" in Simplified Chinese against the brand's bright-green backdrop. Some reports said the campaign is the effort of newly appointed creative director Matthieu Blazy. 

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