Who knew you could make a coat out of fur and plastic, or that a bag can come in 24-carat gold fur? In its traveling exhibition Another Kind of Art, Fendi shows these can be done - and that for decades the Italian brand has been at the forefront of fur fashion innovations.

As the company celebrates its 88th year, it chose the Chinese capital as one of the places to recount its history of art and craftsmanship. For one thing, eight is a highly auspicious number in China, being a homonym for "good fortune" in Mandarin. (In 2007, Fendi staged a fashion show on the Great Wall, presenting 88 models on a catwalk 88 meters long.)

For another, the mainland Chinese are now the world's biggest group of luxury shoppers and are quickly developing sophisticated tastes.