Launched in 2024 as a creative alliance between the two cities, Shenzhen Milan Lifestyle Week opens alongside the Salone del Mobile, serving as the backdrop for the exhibition “The Taste of the Medici,” supported by the Hui Foundation and inaugurated with a special vernissage on Wednesday, April 9. The event aims to promote Chinese culture through an ongoing dialogue between traditions, customs, and technological arts.
Il Gusto dei Medici_Vernissage_Shenzhen Milan Lifestyle Week, Hui Milano & HUI Foundation
Shenzhen Milan Lifestyle Week celebrates the union of tradition and innovation, timed to coincide with the Salone del Mobile. Born in 2024 to strengthen the partnership between Italy and China under the banner of fashion, the initiative provides an exclusive setting for “The Taste of the Medici and the Dialogue on Technology – Making the Extraordinary Ordinary”, an exhibition promoted by the Hui Foundation in collaboration with the Shenzhen Industrial Design Professional Association and the Longhua District.
The event, inaugurated Wednesday evening in Milan with a special preview at the Exhibition Complex of San Vittore and the 40 Martyrs on Viale Lucania 18, aims to support Chinese culture while reinforcing the cultural bridge with Italy. It emphasizes the dialogue between traditions, customs, and technological arts, highlighting the continuity between past and future through the exhibition of works of art, design, and advanced technology.
Curated by Giacomo Santucci and produced by the YNT Museum, the exhibition will be open to the publicfrom April 10 to 21, Tuesday through Sunday.
Il Gusto dei Medici_Kuavo_Robot umanoide_Shenzhen Milan Lifestyle Week, Hui Milano & HUI Foundation
The goal of Shenzhen Milan Lifestyle Week is to showcase the full potential and innovation of Chinese high-tech companies—especially those from Shenzhen—through a narrative that reflects international strategicvision and intercultural exchange. Alongside the artworks, the opening event features a live performance by Leju robots and a traditional Chinese tea ceremony with period costumes, marking the official start of the exhibition.
At the heart of the exhibition is an exploration of the relationship between Medici magnificence and technological innovation—a journey through the connection between mind, heart, and hands, presented across eight sections. Like a modern-day Silk Road, this path blends the language of Chinese art, fashion, design, and innovation with the artistic genius of Medici-era Florence. The exhibition unfolds as a metaphorical journey aboard two trains, inviting visitors to immerse themselves in 17th- and 18th-century Florentine paintings and sculptures by artists such as Salvator Rosa, Alessandro Magnasco, and Gioacchino Fortini, alongside cutting-edge design from Shenzhen.
This special occasion seeks to demonstrate how art, science, and technology serve as universal tools for growth and progress—an invitation to recognize the timeless value of creativity.
Through this project, the Shenzhen government also aims to promote the concept of “Fashion + Technology”, a path that honors the transmission of Chinese cultural heritage and its reinterpretation through contemporary expressions such as fashion and technological innovation. The exhibition will also feature fashion pieces—from the latest Hui Milano runway looks to handcrafted masterpieces by the Miao people of Guizhou province.