On April 11, the 2026 International Forum on Fashion, Art and Design Education, guided by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, hosted by the Chinese Artists Association and undertaken by Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, was held in the Academic Lecture Hall of the CAFA Art Museum. Centered on the theme of Temporal Weaving, the forum gathered academic resources from the CAFA Art Museum, AP Hogeschool Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp in Belgium, the Academy of Art & Design of Tsinghua University, Beijing Dance Academy and other institutions. It brought together top scholars, designers and cross-disciplinary experts at home and abroad to conduct in-depth exchanges on contemporary issues concerning fashion, art and design education. Relevant officials from the International Cooperation and Exchange Office, the School of Fashion Art and Engineering of Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, together with faculty and student representatives, attended the event.
The forum consisted of keynote speeches and roundtable discussions, with Wan Lan, Vice Dean of the School of Fashion Art and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, serving as the academic moderator.
The forum was held under the framework of the “Fashion 100” Youth Art Talent Program launched by the Chinese Artists Association. As a key “seed talent initiative” for young design professionals cultivated by the Association, the program addresses the most pressing mission of contemporary fashion education in China: to guide a new generation of designers to advance authentic creative transformation and innovative development based on an in-depth understanding of the spiritual essence of China’s fine traditional costume culture, and to move beyond superficial symbolic appropriation. Only emerging leading talents with aesthetic confidence, proficiency in international design languages, and deep roots in local cultural heritage can nurture these “seeds” of the times and blossom into fashion works that embody Chinese verve and contemporary spirit within a global context.
Speech by Jin Jun, Director of CAFA Art Museum
Jin Jun, Director of the CAFA Art Museum, delivered the opening address and keynote speech under the title “The Art Museum as an Experimental Field for Fashion Education”. He explored how art museums, as art exhibition venues, have evolved into intellectual laboratories that stimulate creative thinking and foster interdisciplinary dialogue amid the rapid advancement of digital and intelligent technologies. His interpretation unfolded across three dimensions: an experimental field of history and classics, a platform for cross-border integration, and a space for public communication. This perspective breaks through the functional boundaries of traditional art museums and sets a forward-looking and reflective tone for the cross-disciplinary dialogues throughout the forum.
Keynote Speeches
Nedda EL-ASMAR, Dean of AP Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, Belgium, designer and metal artist, delivered a speech
Nedda EL-ASMAR, Dean of AP Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp in Belgium, designer and metal artist, pointed out that in an era of digital acceleration, while technology boosts efficiency, true creativity stems from the in-depth collaboration between hand and mind. “Patience” is not backwardness, but a conscious intellectual choice. Drawing on years of teaching practice, she argued that genuine and valuable uniqueness does not grow from self-isolated self-expression, but emerges quietly from the collision of real cultural differences. Understanding the world is an indispensable prerequisite for self-awareness.
Zou You, Vice President of Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, delivered a speech
Zou You, Vice President of Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, pointed out that contemporary Chinese fashion is not lacking in the borrowing of visual symbols. What is truly needed is to establish a narrative logic rooted in profound cultural genes, and translate the understanding of the relationships between human and objects, as well as human and time in Eastern philosophy, into a tangible, wearable and communicable system of design language.
Roundtable Dialogue
Senior Media Professional, Xiao Xue
The roundtable dialogue was moderated by senior media professional Xiao Xue. The discussion extended from educational methodologies to broader cultural and social dimensions.
Li Yingjun, Vice Dean of the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University
Xiao Xiangrong, Vice President of Beijing Dance Academy
Nedda EL-ASMAR, Dean of AP Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, designer and metal artist, Belgium
Zang Yingchun, Executive Dean of Tsinghua University Milan School of Art and Design
Li Yingjun, Vice Dean of the Academy of Art & Design, Tsinghua University, pointed out that the inheritance of traditional costumes should go beyond superficial patterns and silhouettes to delve into inherent civilizational logic, which calls for cultural awareness and academic confidence among Chinese designers. Xiao Xiangrong, Vice President of Beijing Dance Academy, held that, as a carrier of somatic aesthetics and national rituals, clothing embodies abstract civilization and turns it into a “walking cultural landscape”. In the age of artificial intelligence, the physical presence and bodily expression are particularly precious and boast irreplaceable value that technology cannot replicate. Nedda EL-ASMAR, Dean of AP Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp in Belgium, designer and metal artist, expanded the boundary of “creation”. Starting from material logic and material language, she explored cross-media and interdisciplinary design possibilities. Zang Yingchun, Executive Dean of Tsinghua University Milan School of Art and Design, emphasized that sustainability covers not only the green transformation of materials and craftsmanship, but also cultural inheritance and creators’ spiritual ecology. Based on the practice of Sino-Italian cooperative education, she further broadened the multi-dimensional connotation of sustainable development.
In recent years, Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology has maintained continuous exchanges with top-tier institutions including AP Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp in Belgium, Istituto Europeo di Design, The Glasgow School of Art, Goldsmiths, University of London, Durham University, and London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art. The cooperation covers joint courses, workshops and collaborative research projects, enabling students to engage with cutting-edge international methodologies and thinking frameworks in class. Built on fundamental training in draping, structure and materials, students are empowered to develop design critical thinking with a global vision.
"Only by truly understanding oneself can one engage in genuine dialogue with the world." This is not only the most profound consensus reached at the forum, but also the spiritual guideline and original aspiration that Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology has always upheld in its international development. Anchored by cultural self-awareness and driven by cultural identity, the University fosters the confidence and strength to communicate with and influence the world through in-depth exploration of its own cultural roots.
Chief Editor / He Yisha
Editor / Du Yinzhu
