Within fashion, few have had a career as extensive and acclaimed as that of Chinese couture artist Guo Pei. Recognised and lauded for her sculptural masterpieces that blend together traditional eastern craft techniques with western tailoring, she has continuously pushed the envelope of fashion design within Asia, solidifying China’s standing amongst the powerhouses in fashion and inspiring generations to follow.
This past Saturday, the new Guo Pei: Fashioning Imagination exhibition in Hong Kong officially opened its doors to the public. Curated and hosted by the now-iconic visual arts museum M+, it is the first exhibition of Guo’s to be held in East Asia. Sponsored by HSBC bank and in close collaboration with Guo’s atelier Rose Studio, the exclusive exhibition occupies M+’s Main Hall Gallery with an additional presentation in the Main Hall on the museum’s ground floor.
Broken up into five main themes that each highlight pivotal parts of her career and design journey, the exhibition sees over forty haute couture show pieces flown in from Guo’s atelier Rose Studio in Beijing. Amongst these riveting designs are her 2015 Garden of Soul collection—one that explores themes of fables and nature, her 2017 Legends collection—a reimagination of garments as moving sculptures and a reflection on the inspiration architecture plays in fashion, and her 2018 Elysium collection—that sees the Golden Dream Boat gown standing proudly as the centrepiece of the entire exhibit. Interspersed within the exhibition are also correlated pieces of art and design works from various past M+ collections, sparking a dialogue on the relationship between fashion and the arts.
The exhibition also features her debut Magnificent Gold gown from 2006 and the Yellow Queen dress famously worn by Rihanna at the 2015 Met Gala, two of fashion’s greatest archival treasures and Guo’s most notable creations to date. “This is the first exhibition I have done back in my homeland”, muses Guo of the exhibition. “It is an accumulation of all the blood, sweat, and tears across decades of hard work, and it means the world to me to be able to display all of it in an Asian museum that is close to my community and roots.”
Shares Ikko Yokoyama, the lead curator for Design and Architecture at M+, of the exhibition: “Guo Pei: Fashioning Imagination is the first large-scale exhibition in East Asia dedicated to the legendary couture artist. The exhibition journeys through Guo’s rich universe, charting her profound cultural references and transcendent creations that have made a deep impact in the worlds of fashion and popular culture.” She is quick to note the impact that Guo has had on modern haute couture, and how that has bled over to contemporary art today. “By exhibiting her fantastic collections and career defining garments alongside works from the M+ Collections, we invite visitors to consider the artistry of fashion design and its associations with contemporary visual culture.”
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Guo Pei: Fashioning Imagination exhibition will be open to the public from Saturday, 21 September 2024 to Sunday, 6 April 2025. For more information on the exhibition, visit the official M+ website here.
