This article is adapted from China Playbook, our subscription-based strategy hub for decision-makers navigating China’s ever-shifting consumer landscape.
In recent months, we’ve seen a notable increase in brands using exhibitions, museum tie-ups and artist-led storytelling to deepen emotional resonance with Chinese consumers.
Below are two standout examples demonstrating how luxury maisons localise art-driven activations in ways that feel uniquely Chinese.
To mark its 90th anniversary, Lancôme partnered with the Museum of Art Pudong to present an exhibition featuring artefacts from Paris’s Musée d'Orsay. But the real localisation lies in how Lancôme extended the exhibition into a cultural dialogue.
A panel featuring leading cultural voices:
Xiaojiao (podcaster), Shen Qilan 沈奇岚 (curator), Zhang Yuling 张宇凌 (art historian) and Fan Xiaoyuan 范筱苑 (Editor-in-Chief, Artnet China).
Discussion focused on female figures in Impressionist art — a topic highly aligned with conversations around female identity and representation in China.
The panel was released as a podcast episode, tapping directly into China’s growing appetite for long-form cultural audio content.
Lancôme isn’t just celebrating an anniversary. It is:
positioning itself within China’s cultural-intellectual space
aligning its brand with female empowerment narratives
using art to create a deeper emotional and cultural connection with young, educated consumers
This approach demonstrates how exhibitions can evolve into meaningful cultural storytelling.
Van Cleef & Arpels (VCA) has brought its acclaimed The Art of Movement exhibition to Nanjing, and its localisation work is a masterclass for the industry.
The Chinese tagline "金陵风起，动静皆生辉" preserves the essence of The Art of Movement while weaving in Jinling 金陵, Nanjing’s historic name. The result is poetic, site-specific and instantly recognisable to a local audience.
The broader campaign uses the tone and rhythm of classical Chinese poetry, blending VCA’s French heritage with Chinese literary tradition.
The exhibition, hosted at the Deji Art Museum 德基艺术博物馆, is not just a one-off event but complemented by children’s workshops, cultural talks, offline webinars and programmes led by L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewellery Arts Shanghai, the maison’s permanent educational institution.
These explore themes such as dance, floral art, design and jewellery craftsmanship — expanding the exhibition into a multi-touchpoint cultural experience.
VCA is building long-term cultural capital, community engagement through education and deeper brand affinity via hands-on experiences. This is how exhibitions become ecosystems, not just events.
Art collaborations have long helped luxury brands enhance their cultural relevance. But in China, these partnerships have become a core localisation strategy — a way to connect global brand heritage with Chinese cultural identity, artistic tradition and contemporary social conversation.
Don’t just translate — localise deeply. Brands that succeed in China reinterpret their heritage through Chinese culture, not around it.
The strongest luxury activations draw from local history, use classical aesthetics, integrate local cultural figures and intellectual voices or reinterpret global brand heritage in a Chinese context.
Create dialogue, not moments. Exhibitions alone are no longer enough. Chinese consumers expect cultural talks, workshops, educational touchpoints, curated offline experiences and cross-platform content extensions (e.g., podcasts).
These layers create a sense of participation and community — essential to extend the life of an exhibition and build a narrative that lasts long after the event ends.
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All images via brands