They were impossible to miss. At the beginning of November, two illuminated panels bearing the "Dior Lady Art" logo were installed on the facade of the Shanghai Exhibition Centre, overshadowing the banner of the Art021 fair, attended by a handful of French galleries such as Mennour, Chantal Crousel and Almine Rech. The imposing building crowned with a red star, Stalin's gift to the young People's Republic, welcomed an incessant flow of visitors taking selfies. Despite this, the atmosphere remained gloomy. "For the past year, things have been catastrophic: Galleries aren't selling anything. There's a big crisis of confidence among Chinese buyers," said Magda Danysz, who was simultaneously participating in the West Bund Art & Design fair in Shanghai. A Parisian gallerist with deep insight into the market, Danysz has split her time between Paris and the Chinese metropolis since 2012, witnessing firsthand the market's volatile shifts.

Art021's trendy visitors largely avoided the paintings, instead congregating in the low light around the Dior stand, where luxury bags customized by high-profile visual artists were displayed on pedestals like idols. This unabashed glitz may come as a surprise in a country where flaunting one's wealth is generally frowned upon, prompting analysts to describe the trend as the "shame of luxury." Reflecting Beijing's ideological influence, China's internet regulator even banned any social media content extolling "extravagant lifestyles and ostentatious wealth."

But in China, dogmas can shift and rules are open to interpretation. So people quickly learn not to take any notice of paradoxes. Not even the comical proximity of the Comité Colbert logo and the Chinese Communist flag in the courtyard of a 1930s building in Shanghai. From November 4 to 10, the Comité Colbert, which represents nearly 100 luxury brands and 18 cultural institutions, organized the Jeux de Mains ("Hand Games") exhibition. The designer Jiang Qiong Er skilfully brought together Chinese and French artisans to draw in Chinese consumers without irritating their leaders, who disapprove of bling.

Masters in the art of bamboo dentelle and filigree competed with the precious little hands of Christofle and Louboutin. "I wanted Chinese visitors to discover the excellent craftsmanship behind the luxury products they see in the stores, and once they'd understood how it's made, to say 'oh, it's not expensive'," said the former decorative arts graduate from Paris. The aim was clear: To transform the product into an objet d'art, place French and Chinese expertise on an equal footing and revive a struggling French luxury goods sector that competes with local brands.

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