V&A Gives New Meaning to ‘Made in China’

Look around. How many of the objects around you are stamped ‘Made in China’? A lot, if your desk looks anything like ours. But what does the creative landscape of China actually look like? A blockbuster exhibition that opens tomorrow at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum promises to reveal just that. “China Design Now,” which runs through July 13, focuses on China’s new culture of design: from the cutting-edge graphic designers of early-1990s Shenzen (which the show dubs “Frontier City”) to the urban fashion and lifestyle trends of Shanghai (“Future City”) to the monumental architecture still under construction in preparation for the Olympics in Beijing (“Dream City”). And while you’re saving up for that plane ticket to London, busy yourself at the exhibition’s website, which offers the opportunity to “create your own Chinese zodiac,” including an adorable, customizable creature that will make you feel a lot better about being born in the year of the rat (the dragon, however, is a little scary).

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