Friday 26 September, 6-8 p.m.: Exhibition Opening: Thing in Itself, by 2025 Christine Risley Award Winner Ping Chen

Goldsmiths Textiles Collection & Constance Howard Gallery, Deptford Town Hall, Goldsmiths, University of London, SE14 6AF

Exhibition opening reception: Friday 26 September, 6 - 8 pm

Exhibition opening times: 29 September - 30 October. Open Monday - Friday, 1 - 4 pm.

2025 Christine Risley Award Winner, Ping Chen, presents Thing in Itself, a
design inquiry into the fluidity of masculinity and identity.

Articulated through a reversible tailored suit with multifunctional structures, and inspired by his great-grandfather’s gentle presence in a Chinese tunic suit, Ping Chen's designs translate caring gestures into structural garment language.Drawing from androgynous tailoring, deconstruction, and multicultural identity, the designs subvert menswears conventional boundaries by integrating historically coded feminine elements. A reinterpreted baby carrier becomes a back panel and collar, linked with apron forms and engageante-style sleeves and connected by brassiere hooks for easy assembly and disassembly. Trousers feature extended zippers to transform into a skirt, altering form and function.

Each garment in itself—fluid, hybrid, and genderless—is like an orchid blooming
quietly under every gaze, embodying a softness that is not weakness but strength, and a design that does not dictate who one should be, but frees one to become. The Christine Risley Award is given annually to a final-year undergraduate student who demonstrates originality, innovation, and a deeply engaged approach to working with textile materials and ideas. The award recognises excellence in contemporary textile practice in honour of the celebrated artist, author and educator whose influence helped shape textile art as we know it today.

Join us for the launch on Friday 26 September, from 6 - 8 pm, for a celebratory
evening bringing together artists, makers, curators, and textile lovers from across the country. With drinks, conversation, and a first look at the exhibition, it is the perfect way to mark the opening of this vibrant and vital moment in the UK’s contemporary textile calendar. Whether you’re a practicing artist, a collector, a student or simply textile-curious, this is an unmissable opportunity to witness the powerful showcase of an emerging design talent.

Please Note: This is a free event. To reserve your place, simply add a ticket to your cart and complete the checkout process in our shop. 

Christine Risley Award | Goldsmiths, University of London
Goldsmiths Textile Collection & Constance Howard Gallery | Goldsmiths, University of London