SYMBIOTIC VISION: FASHION FUTIAN
2026 SPECIAL INVITATIONAL EXHIBITION OF FASHION ILLUSTRATION
Fashion illustration is both the starting point of fashion design and an independent art form in its own right. Every line is more than simply the outline of a garment. It carries the artist’s imagination of the body, perception of the times, reflection on culture, and exploration of the future. From the textures of watercolour on paper and the experimental forms created through digital drawing to the encounter between Eastern aesthetics and future technologies, fashion illustration offers a distinctive way of expressing ideas about fashion, culture and the future. Symbiotic Vision: Fashion Futian – 2026 Special Invitational Exhibition of Fashion Illustration, presented as a special exhibition of the 4th Futian Fashion Creative Design Week, is now open for submissions. Combining invited participation with an open call, the exhibition brings together students, educators, alumni, professional fashion illustrators and independent artists from art and design institutions in China and internationally, presenting diverse perspectives in contemporary fashion illustration and design practice.
01 ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Fashion illustration is both the starting point of fashion design and an independent art form in its own right. Every line is more than simply the outline of a garment. It carries the artist’s imagination of the body, perception of the times, reflection on culture, and exploration of the future. From the textures of watercolour on paper and the experimental forms created through digital drawing to the encounter between Eastern aesthetics and future technologies, fashion illustration offers a distinctive way of expressing ideas about fashion, culture and the future. Symbiotic Vision: Fashion Futian – 2026 Special Invitational Exhibition of Fashion Illustration, presented as a special exhibition of the 4th Futian Fashion Creative Design Week, is now open for submissions. Combining invited participation with an open call, the exhibition brings together students, educators, alumni, professional fashion illustrators and independent artists from art and design institutions in China and internationally, presenting diverse perspectives in contemporary fashion illustration and design practice.
02 CREATIVE DIRECTIONS
Participants are encouraged to develop work around, but not limited to, the following areas, while demonstrating their own artistic language and individual creative approach.
Contemporary Fashion Figures: Interpretations of the posture, character, visual identity and cultural expressions of contemporary fashion figures.
Creative Reinterpretation of Intangible Cultural Heritage: Artistic and contemporary interpretations of traditional patterns, embroidery, weaving, dyeing and other forms of intangible cultural heritage within a fashion context.
Futuristic and Technology-Inspired Fashion: Future-oriented fashion concepts, including science-fiction-inspired forms, virtual fashion, digital art, AI-assisted creation and other experimental approaches.
Fashion Design Concept Sketches: Concept drawings, design sketches and other visual representations of the fashion design process and design thinking.
03 ELIGIBILITY
The open call welcomes students, educators and distinguished alumni from leading art and design institutions globally, particularly those working in areas including:
Fashion Design
Fashion and Apparel Design
Fine Art and Painting
Visual Communication Design
Other related art and design disciplines
Professional practitioners are also welcome to apply, including:
Professional fashion illustrators
Fashion illustration artists
Independent artists
04 ARTWORK AND SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
a. Media (There are no restrictions on creative media. Accepted approaches include, but are not limited to)
Hand drawing and painting, including watercolour, coloured pencil, marker and ink
Digital drawing and painting
Mixed media, AI assisted drawing, ect.
b. Submission Format
This open call accepts digital submissions only. Regardless of the original medium, all works must be converted into high-resolution digital files for submission.
c. Image Specifications
File formats: JPG / PNG / TIFF
Maximum file size: 10 MB per image
Maximum number of submissions: 3 works per applicant
Recommended resolution: 300 dpi or above
Minimum long-edge dimension: 3000 pixels
These specifications are intended to ensure sufficient image quality for professional exhibition printing and presentation. No original physical artwork needs to be submitted or shipped.
Registration Form (Click to download below)
All artwork files and required submission materials should be sent by email to: info@susfuture.org
05 USE OF AI-ASSISTED TOOLS
The use of AI tools as part of the creative process is permitted, for example for compositional reference, rendering, colouring and other supporting stages of production. However, the submitted work must demonstrate the creator’s own original concept and design expression. Where AI-assisted tools have been used, applicants must clearly state how and at which stage they were used in the artwork description. Works generated entirely by AI in a single process, without subsequent human creative development or intervention, are not eligible for this open call.
06 SELECTION AND EXHIBITION
All submitted works will undergo a review and selection process.
Submission does not automatically guarantee inclusion in the exhibition. Only works selected following the review process will be exhibited. Selected works will be presented during the 2026 Futian Fashion Creative Design Week in Futian, Shenzhen.
Professional printing, mounting and/or digital presentation of selected works will be arranged by the organisers according to the exhibition requirements. Selected works may also be presented through the organisers' and related official platforms.
If higher-resolution files or additional materials are required for exhibition production, the organisers will contact the selected artists separately.
Artists are not required to send original physical artworks.
07 TIMELINE
Submission Deadline: 15 November 2026
Review and Selection: 25 November 2026
Submission of Supplementary Materials for Selected Works: By 30 November 2026 (if needed)
Exhibition Date and Opening: TBC, around Dec 2026
08 COPYRIGHT AND USE OF WORKS
Artists retain full copyright in their submitted works. For works selected for the exhibition, the organisers are granted the right to use the works for non-commercial purposes related to the exhibition and its promotion, including: exhibition display, online promotion, media coverage, inclusion in exhibition catalogues and related documentation, etc. The artist’s name and institutional affiliation will be credited where the work is used.
09 ORGANISERS
Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports Bureau of Futian District, Shenzhen
National Steering Committee for Postgraduate Education in Professional Art Degrees, China
SUSFUTURE
Global Sustainable Fashion Week
World Textile University Alliance
Faculty of Arts, Shenzhen University
School of Innovation and Creative Design, Shenzhen Polytechnic University
Shenzhen Futian District Association for the Promotion of Fashion, Culture and Arts
10 CONTACT
For enquiries regarding submissions and exhibition, please contact us via: info@susfuture.org