SHANGHAI— Western art fairs have begun the march to China. Now it’s design’s turn. The first Chinese edition of the London and Tokyo interior-design show 100% Design, takes place June 26 to 28 at the Shanghai Exhibition Center. Starting five-year stints as creative directors are two New Yorkers: the conceptual artist and designer Tobias Wong and the writer-curator Aric Chen (an Art+Auction contributor).

The June event will feature more than 100 exhibitors, including Design Republic, which Chen describes as the “Moss of Shanghai,” referring to the lauded New York store, and such large-scale manufacturers as Artemide, Bulthaup and Cassina, showing everything from advances in Formica to faucets. Shanghai gallerist Pearl Lam is also getting in on the action: She’s sponsoring an outdoor installation by the design duo WOKmedia.

Because Chinese design is so young, it won’t play a dominant role this year, but Chen and Wong expect the Western focus to change. They’ve expressed this in an installation of bamboo scaffolding, a symbol of the country’s rapid growth, whose empty niches are waiting to be filled with local works. “Our hope is that we can spark something,” says Wong. China is “hungry for design.” It’s a hunger that 100% Design Shanghai should sate.

"Designing Men" originally appeared in the June 2008 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's June 2008 Table of Contents.