In the first exhibition of its kind in China, ‘Style in Revolt’ tells the story of how streetwear and street culture became a global phenomenon, from the streets of London, New York and Tokyo to the world stage.

Street culture is rooted in youth and revolt.It is as much a mindset as it is a creative output, or a fashion silhouette. This exhibition maps a modern-day street culture mythology, as told by the people who have shaped it. It traces the chain reactions of socio-economic shifts, conspicuous consumption, artistic movements such as Situationism and Postmodernism and the proliferation of technology.

This is about more than the T-shirt: it is a deconstruction of societal concepts and an experiment in putting them back together to fit the moment, about the recasting of and remixing of ideas and silhouettes.It can be said that street culture is a visual tale, one that adopts spaces and symbolic uniforms and recontextualizes them, layering them with new meaning through customization.

It is grounded in public art such as graffiti, and in the form of tangible relics of ‘merch’; in the early aesthetics of punk and DIY culture, and in crude adaptions of vintage, such as T-shirts, army gear and workwear; in the graphics added on as marks of an era.

It is equally defined by ephemeral forums of thought and emotion, like a sonic pulse in music and nightclubs. We might think of this exhibition as a ‘visual playlist’ of commodities that reflect song lyrics, album designs and events. With the electronic era, visual remixes have become a form of content. This exhibition highlights the evolution of street culture’s manifestations in three movements. Exploring the cross-pollination of streetwear brands with music, art and media, it acknowledges the past and its context in the present, looking to the future of street culture as it continues to evolve.

‘Style in Revolt’ communicates a collective ethos of creativity and ingenuity to inspire the next generation to make a meaningful contribution to street culture in China.

Style in Revolt

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