Hong Kong’s M+ highlights work of China’s leading fashion designer, Guo Pei
Couture artist is celebrated for blending Western and Chinese influences; her most well-known piece was even worn by Rihanna at the Met Gala.
An exhibition at M+ titled “Guo Pei: Fashioning Imagination” showcases key pieces from the Chinese fashion designer’s collections. Photo: Kathryn GiordanoEvery week, Talking Points gives you a worksheet to practise your reading comprehension with exercises about the story we’ve written.
Global superstar Rihanna turned heads when she arrived at the 2015 Met Gala in New York wearing a luxurious, fur-trimmed yellow dress with a long train covered in embroidered flowers.
The theme for that year’s event was “China: Through the Looking Glass”, but Rihanna was one of only a few people who wore a Chinese designer. And it wasn’t just any designer: it was China’s leading couture artist, Guo Pei.
Guo recalled her anxiousness on the night of the Met Gala: “I was under a lot of pressure and jet-lagged, just generally unwell. So, I wanted to get off the red carpet quickly,” she said. “As I was walking out, I caught a glimpse of Rihanna backstage, adjusting the dress. I thought to myself, ‘Please don’t see me, please don’t see me.’”
Her nerves settled once Rihanna stepped out, and Guo heard cheers filling the room.
While this was certainly one of the most poignant moments in her career, Guo’s work has been impressing fashion and art enthusiasts for nearly 30 years.
An exhibition at Hong Kong’s M+ museum – the first major exhibition of Guo’s work produced in China – showcases her key collections and early designs. “Guo Pei: Fashioning Imagination” kicked off in September and runs through April 6 of this year.
“I want to share with a much broader audience worldwide, and also to share the love and emotion, values that this creates,” Guo, 57, said through a translator. “Museums are the best platform to share love and the message that these creations are not only my own. It’s a creation for humanity.”
Getting her start
Growing up during a time of poverty and scarcity in China, Guo said that all her family’s clothes fit in a single cabinet. “We only got new clothes once a year during Chinese New Year,” she recalled.
Her introduction to clothes-making started young; she learned to sew at the age of two and quickly became interested in creating dresses.
Her abilities landed her a spot at the Beijing School of Industrial Fashion Design, where she graduated at the top of her class.
After a decade of designing for major manufacturers, she launched a label and atelier called Rose Studio to create her couture designs – she had her mind set on fashioning “a big dress”, which would eventually become the piece Rihanna wore.
However, things didn’t go as planned right away.
“Unexpectedly, after the company was established, I found myself transitioning from a designer who enjoyed freedom to someone facing the reality of not being able to pay salaries,” Guo explained. “In that moment, all of my ideas changed dramatically. I needed to make money, pay salaries, and ensure our survival.”
Things started to go more smoothly a few years later, and her mind returned to the big dress. “Magnificent Gold” required 50,000 hours of work and is considered one of Guo’s signature pieces.
“I simply wanted to make a big dress – the most beautiful dress in the world – that I had dreamed about since I was very young ... I finally brought my vision to life.”
Blend of cultures
Guo has long been celebrated for blending elements of Chinese cultural heritage with a modern Western twist.
Couture fashion originated in France, and Guo has held solo exhibitions in Paris museums. She even became a member of the chief governing body of the high-fashion industry.
“Western culture drew me in. It naturally became part of my life, integrating within me. It exists in my life and my heart, merging into a whole,” she said.
Still, Guo has remained rooted in her culture.
“The fact that my work can enter museums and transcend haute couture ... represents us as Chinese people. I’m not just speaking for myself; I carry the weight of a nation,” she said.
Yet, even with these clear influences, Guo credits her inspiration to “life and a love for life”.
“Many people are curious about how Eastern and Western cultures are integrated in my work. There is no specific method; it is simply love. Chinese culture flows through me like my blood, like my mother language. It is an inseparable part of my life; it is my very existence,” she said.
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