Burberry Crafts Mesmerising Installation for Iconic Olympia Bag Launch

Together with MediaMonks, Burberry promotes its iconic handbag – the Olympia Bag, as part of the fifth instalment of the ‘Burberry Generation’ artist collaboration project in mainland China. 

In November last year, Burberry China launched the ‘Burberry Generation’ content series, featuring avant-garde young local talents in various fields to highlight fashion, life, and art. Now, in its fifth issue, MediaMonks was invited to create bespoke storytelling about an iconic handbag and its unique product design.  

“Inspired by the perfectly crafted curvature of the Olympia bag, we collaborated with installation artists Lv Xiaohe, Yang Jiaxi, Shen Li, and balance artist Han Suining, to co-create four art pieces which brought the unsettling beauty of Olympia bags to life. A breathtaking balancing act between form and arts,” said David Tse, creative director at MediaMonks. 

The project is not only an inheritance of the innovative spirit rooted in the Burberry Generation, but it also demonstrates the commitment to discover emerging young Chinese artists and support them to break through the boundaries of their own styles and art through cross-border collaboration.

The team created four hero short films and a pack of key visuals to showcase the making process of the balancing installation and the conceptions behind it. All launched on WeChat, Little Red Book, and social video platforms.

The complex installations were all built from scratch starring the Olympia Bag as the cherry on the cake – a process of dealing with countless construction failures while exploring the beauty of balance and fashion through daily necessities, furniture, raw materials, ice, stones, and bricks. 

“Balance requires more than stringent decision-making, steady hands and the ability of concentration. It is a meticulous art to find the perfect centre of gravity. You need to be obsessed with precision" said Han Suining, who built a structure of stacked stones.

MediaMonks and Burberry have a long-lasting partnership and proven history of great creative work. Yet, this launch is undoubtedly one of the most exciting, experimenting, and challenging projects so far - the answer lies in the marriage of creativity and craftsmanship.

“It’s not only a campaign asset creation but also one experimental co-creation with multiple parties. In its essence, it is a celebration of local emerging talents, dynamic content creation, and artwork that push boundaries. We accomplished an unexpected mission together. It’s a creative breakthrough for all involved, as well as for the artists, said Rogier Bikker, managing director of MediaMonks.