Nanyi Li
Nanyi Li, a Chinese-born conceptual designer, is based in Berlin and Halle (Saale). Her creative interests are diverse, encompassing fashion, contemporary jewelry, digital art and traditional craftsmanship.
Her principal area of interest is Upcycling Design. She believes that reusing existing materials not only reduces waste, but also encourages artistic expression and innovation. Her dedication to sustainability is evident in her entire body of work, which incorporates a variety of materials, including found, natural, reusable, recyclable, and environmentally friendly materials.
Guided by her keen observations of people, value, culture, and society, with a focus on exploring the relationships between humans and their social and cultural environments. Her work is not designed to make explicit cultural or political messages. Rather, they are intended to facilitate the creation of a “Third Space,” which enables a dialogue between the garments /objects and the viewer. This allows the viewer to step outside of their habitual thinking and reconsider their cultural identity and quotidian realities. It is this interaction that drives her artistic research and also results in creations that often juxtapose contrasting elements, including familiar and foreign, luxury and cheap, traditional and contemporary, and artificial and natural.
ACADEMIA
Since 2024 Oct. Artistic Assistant, Fashion Department, Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle, Germany
EDUCATION
2022 M.A. Conceptual Fashion Design, Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle, Germany
2017 B.A. Product Design, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
AWARDS
Nomination, German Design Award 2025 – Newcomer, Germany
Shortlist, Wilhelm-Lorch-Stiftung Promotion Award 2024, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
3rd. Prize, Apolda European Design Award 2023, Apolda, Germany
Winner, The funding project “Fashion X Craft” 2023, Fashion Council Germany in partnership with the Swarovski Foundation and The King’s Foundation, Germany & the United Kingdom
Best Sustainability Concept, Neo. Fashion Award 2022, Berlin, Germany
Winner, Academy Award 2017, School of Fine Arts, South China Normal University, China
Outstanding Work, Guangdong Cutting-Edge Jewelry Designer Contest 2016, Guangdong, China
Finalist, Guangdong Cutting-Edge Jewelry Designer Contest 2016, Guangdong, China
EXHIBITIONS (selection, collective)
2024 Oct. Exhalation, Exhibition and Performance about Textile Waste and Future Utopias, Berlin, Germany
2024 Feb. Der Berliner Salon, Berlin Fashion Week AW2024, Berlin, Germany
2023 Oct. This jewelry is 100RMB, VONMO Gallery, Beijing, China
2023 Jan. Der Berliner Salon, Berlin Fashion Week AW2023, Berlin, Germany
2022 Dec. Neo. Fashion, Aachen, Germany
2022 Oct. Neo.Fashion & GoTextile, Berlin, Germany