[Photo provided to China Daily]

Then, as handbags became more expressive and demonstrative, new possibilities arose, says Azoulay, and artists participated in designing handbags－from surrealist master Salvador Dali to acclaimed architect Zaha Hadid.

Their creations are found among the exhibits, as well as a bag used by Queen Elizabeth II.

While vintage, historic and name-brand bags are showcased on the right side of the exhibition hall, contemporary artists' works are featured on the left.

It was Chinese curator Penny Liu who has put together the contemporary bags display for the exhibition.

The word "Bagism"－the name of the exhibition－was coined by pop legend John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono as part of their extensive peace campaign in the late 1960s.

The celebrity couple had then wrapped themselves in a white sheet, with the word "Bagism" written on it.

With their clothes and all other things removed, the couple called on people to take each other's ideas more seriously, so as to achieve "total communication", says Liu.

Liu adds that by choosing the word as the name for the exhibition, she wanted to address the social and cultural significance of bags.

Among the contemporary artists featured in the exhibition are Zhang Enli and Xu Zhen, as well as young talents such as Pixie Liao and Peng Wei.

The artists have worked through various media and styles, projecting the handbag as a vessel for desire, a metaphor for the human existence, as well as projection of values and ideas.

Speaking of the exhibition, Adrian Cheng, the founder of the K11 Art Mall, says: It will lead the trend for crossover shows of fashion and art.

"We hope that through this exhibition, people will get inspired to know more and talk more about the concept of art, the history of fashion designing, and see the relationship between the two, and how it inspires Chinese contemporary artists and society."

Contact the writer at zhangkun@chinadaily.com.cn

If you go

Bagism: We Are All in the Same Bag!

10 am-8 pm, through Oct 9. chi K11 Art Museum, 300 Huaihai Road Middle, Huangpu district, Shanghai. 021-2310-3188.