Milano and Keqiao Textile Districts Collaborate on Palazzo Isimbardi Exhibition

A collaboration between Milan and Keqiao, a city of one million in southeastern China, results in the exhibition 'Keqiao The Excellence Exhibition Sustained Research for a Better Future,' opening September 19, 2023, at Palazzo Isimbardi in Corso Monforte. The show explores fashion production, research, innovation, and sustainability. Keqiao's textile district, established in the 1980s, is unique in China, with companies focused on production and research, producing fibers, yarns, and natural fabrics for high-end fashion and home textiles worth over ten billion dollars annually. Nearly 100,000 buyers visit Keqiao daily, and its textile industry accounts for ten percent of China's total. The venue choice is significant: in November 2018, a memorandum of collaboration between Milan and Keqiao was signed at Palazzo Isimbardi. The exhibition, set in the 16th-century courtyard, will feature high-end fabrics and creations by designers Angelo Cruciani, Alberto Zambelli (Italians working in China), and Chinese designers Ling Yali and Qi Bin. They created a collection interpreting the link between the two cities, highlighting Keqiao's unique materials, production, and research, such as fabrics made from local bamboo pulp, a sustainable, low-water fiber with antibacterial properties. Ten companies from the Keqiao district, which collaborate with major global fashion brands, will also participate.