Launch of Design Trust Fellowship at V&A East Creative Commission Installations

22. 9. 2026

V&A East Storehouse, ©Hufton+Crow, Courtesy of Victoria & Albert Museum
V&A East Storehouse, ©Hufton+Crow, Courtesy of Victoria & Albert Museum

The inaugural Design Trust Fellowship at V&A East fellows Sian Fan, and Adam Huxley-Khng and Jimin Jeon, will present their Creative Commission installation works and research documentation at V&A East, London in November 2026 till June 2027. Responding to the theme “The Stories of Clothes”, the fellows’ installation works are built upon their object research and archive activation at the V&A East Storehouse, fieldwork research in Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area and Chinese Mainland, exploring topics of cultural heritage, manufacturing technologies and material innovation.

Documentation of “Liangmao” at V&A East Storehouse, courtesy of Sian Fan.
Documentation of “Liangmao” at V&A East Storehouse, courtesy of Sian Fan.
Research documentation of Sian Fan’s fieldwork in Hong Kong, courtesy of Sian Fan.
Research documentation of Sian Fan’s fieldwork in Hong Kong, courtesy of Sian Fan.

Starting with the traditional Hakka "Liangmao" (patterned hat) in the V&A collection, Fan’s project explores her dual British-Chinese heritage. Following field research in Kop Tong in the New Territories (visiting her ancestral Fan Clan Home) and Fujian, Fan sculpts with light, digitally fabricated textiles and bamboo to craft a family of hanging figures which meditate on contemporary narratives surrounding Hakka diaspora identities and living tradition.

Adam Huxley-Khng and Jimin Jeon’s Review workshop at V&A East Storehouse.
Adam Huxley-Khng and Jimin Jeon’s Review workshop at V&A East Storehouse.
Research documentation of Adam Huxley-Khng and Jimin Jeon’s fieldwork in Qiaotou, courtesy of Adam Huxley-Khng and Jimin Jeon.
Research documentation of Adam Huxley-Khng and Jimin Jeon’s fieldwork in Qiaotou, courtesy of Adam Huxley-Khng and Jimin Jeon.

The fellows Adam Huxley-Khng and Jimin Jeon explored garment fasteners such as buttons, frog closures, and zips, fuelled by their curiosity for innovation and development in these items. During their research trip in March 2026, Adam and Jimin explored everyday fastener market in Hong Kong, Circular Knit R&D Lab in Shanghai, and Qiaotou Town in Wenzhou known as "button capital of the world". Defining the fasteners as the “architecture and form of clothing”, Adam and Jimin traced their evolution from pre-history to the present, from carved horn buttons to die-cast stainless steel zips, and how the origin of those fasteners reflect cultural significance, allowing them to be traceable across continents.

 

The Creative Commission installation works will be open for visit from November 14th 2026 at V&A East Storehouse and on view until June 20th 2027. More details will be shared on Design Trust and V&A East’s platforms.