Guo Pei made history as the first Chinese designer to be accepted into the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture in Paris in 2011, elevating her status as a pioneering voice in international haute couture from Asia. Pei pays homage to traditional Chinese aesthetics while incorporating modern design. This international acclaim has elevated her label and earned her star clients like Rihanna and Lady Gaga.
Now, the M+ museum spotlights Pei’s career with the opening of “Guo Pei: Fashioning Imagination.” This is the first major retrospective of her work in China, it will display her key collections in five series from 21 Sept 2024 to 6 Apr 2025. Visitors can get an exclusive preview of the cultural significance and imagination behind Pei’s sublime fashion artistry.
Gallery Walkthrough
The First Part: The Joy of Life
The first part, “The Joy of Life,” mainly covers “Garden of the Soul” collection in 2015, which combines Guo Pei’s imagination of nature and her personal memories. It references late twentieth-century European fashion, incorporating the concept of floral rivers flowing around a Chinese pavilion set in the centre of a fantastical garden.
The Second Part: New Tales from the East
The second part, “New Tales from the East”, displays the “One Thousand and Two Nights” collection, which is based on the famous Middle Eastern folk tale collection “One Thousand and One Nights”, as well as “Eastern Palace”, combining ancient Chinese mythology and palace themes.
“The Yellow Queen” gown from her 2009 “One Thousand and Two Nights” collection garnered international attention when worn by Rihanna to the 2015 Met Gala. Intricately embroidered with peonies and paisley motifs inspired by Persian miniature paintings, the vibrant silk creation transports viewers to an opulent royal realm.
The “East Palace” collection which incorporated references to Ming dynasty through Western fabrics by using twill tweed embellished with colourful metallic patent leather, mosaic sequins and prints, and cracked textured fabrics.
The Third Part: Transcending Space
The third part, “Transcending Space”, is more playful, with works originating from architectural designs from various places. For example, the “Legend” collection is inspired by the spectacular ceiling paintings and interior murals of St. Gallen’s Cathedral and its rich religious imagery.
Meanwhile, the “L’Architecture” collection integrates western historical architecture into fashion. It is her view of fashion creation as “enveloping the human body”, which is the expression of a new concept of “mobile architecture”.
The Fourth Part: Ethereal Mythologies
The fourth part is “Ethereal Mythologies”, which displays works inspired by myths, including “Legend of the Dragon” and “Elysium” collection released during the Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week for the fifth time.
The “Legend of the Dragon” gown from 2012, its scales and beasts breathe life into ancient legends. The collection featured intricately carved “back dragon” silhouettes as well as an elevated three-dimensional embroidery with the “relief show” that combines Eastern and Western cushion embroidery techniques. It enables Legend of the Dragon displayed in a series of clothing works and carved in clothing fabrics.
For the “Elysium” collection, among which the representative work “The Gold Boat” has complex and gorgeous flower and vine patterns, showing the designer’s imagination of the place of death.
The Fifth and Final Part: On Dreams and Reality
Last but not least, the final part showcases her haute couture works, focusing on how Guo Pei expresses the concepts of time and rebirth in his designs. The “Samsara” collection in 2006 was inspired from the War Museum in Paris, where Guo was struck by the intricate details and embroidery on Napoleon’s uniforms. They showcased their excellent craftsmanship skills across various techniques. Most notably through an elaborate gown titled “The Magnificent Gold” that featured over 50,000 hours of embroidery work elegantly fusing Chinese traditions with Western stitching styles to recreate intricate dragon motifs.
Gallery Reflections
Among the five series of the exhibition, visitors are able to observe Guo Pei’s transformed inspirations across her fashion artworks. Nancy Qin, who is an art creator from Guangzhou travelling to Hong Kong said, “I am impressed by the ‘architecture’ collection because of its groundbreaking artistic attempt. She integrated the architectural elements of Baroque and Gothic churches into the construction of clothing, so there were dresses with skirts like church windows.
Lau added,” The Magnificent Gold” is the one that best suits my aesthetics. It has a very exaggerated, simple, and rhythmic tailoring, supplemented by bold and huge embroidery, sublimating the temperament into a higher level.
The structure of the exhibition is simple and sincere, and the layout of the exhibition is also very mature. The movement lines are reasonable, and it is convenient for close observation. ~ Kristy Lau, a postgraduate student pursuing her fashion degree in Taiwan.
Guo Pei’s work demonstrates the merging of Chinese tradition with modern influences in creative expression. She draws extensively from historical crafts and dynastic aesthetics, using centuries-old textile techniques in her designs. Traditional motifs from folklore, mythology and imperial culture are reinterpreted through original visions.
New Interpretations, New Chinese Style
At the same time, international trends and industrial materials are incorporated, blending Eastern artisanship with Western silhouettes. Her fusion of past and present styles represents an evolving approach where traditional techniques are both preserved and advanced. This innovative integration of different eras signals the dynamic interaction between continuity and change driving creative evolution in Chinese fashion.
As the Chinese economy and cultural influence have expanded internationally over the past decades, along with increasing appreciation for its creative works, Guo Pei emerged as China began asserting herself more prominently on the global fashion stage in the 2000s. Meanwhile, designers like Jacques Wei, Shushu/Tong and Uma Wang brought Chinese aesthetics and methods to Paris runways, blending Eastern flair with Western silhouettes in a way that defined the New Chinese Style.
The emergence of the New Chinese Style reflects both the evolution and globalization of Chinese fashion. According to a survey conducted in 2022, Taobao and the global trend forecasting agency WGSN released the “2022 Spring and Summer Fashion Trend Report”. It summarized the eight major fashion trends in the spring and summer of 2022, and “New Chinese Style” was among them.
I think this style is quite special as it modernises historical Chinese silhouettes. But for me, it is a bit hard to carry. Also the trend enables more Chinese designers to gain spotlights in international fashion industry. ~ Jamie Chan, a college student
Pioneered by designers who draw deeply from the cultural heritage, it champions appreciation for traditional craftsmanship while innovating new aesthetics. By blending reverence and reinvention, it both honors historical roots and champions their creative renewal for diverse international audiences. Their work keeps tradition relevant through a Chinese lens, not by copying the past but by building on antique foundations with a contemporary vision.
It is a movement still taking shape, but there’s hope as a platform for uplifting Chinese cultural expression. At its best, New Chinese Style champions bridging appreciation across borders through an East-meets-West fusion.
Written by Renee Law