Guo Pei: Fashioning Imagination

EVENT DESCRIPTION

M+, Asia’s global museum of contemporary visual culture in the West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong, will present GuoPei: Fashioning Imagination, the first major exhibition in East Asia of celebrated Chinese couture artist Guo Pei (Chinese, born 1967), organised in close collaboration with the artist and her studio. Generously supported by Lead Sponsor HSBC, the Special Exhibition will be held in M+’s Main Hall Gallery with an additional presentation in the Main Hall on the museum’s ground floor. The exhibition will open to the public on Saturday, 21 September 2024 to Sunday, 6 April 2025.

Guo Pei’s first major exhibition in East Asia

Guo Pei is among China’s first generation of contemporary fashion designers. Spanning nearly four decades, her practice resonates with Asian and global cultural trends over the past century. Guo’s highly imaginative work blends historic Chinese craftsmanship with global inspirations, Western tailoring, and haute couture, the high-end dressmaking practice that originated in nineteenth-century Europe. At the forefront of rejuvenating traditional Chinese embroidery, Guo and her team have adapted many embroidery techniques and couture craftsmanship, reviving this intangible cultural heritage and continuing its legacy by incorporating cross-cultural influences.

Guo Pei: Fashioning Imagination features more than forty haute couture show pieces loaned from Guo’s atelier Rose Studio. They are placed in dialogue with works of art and design from the M+ Collections, creating a network of visual and thematic ideas across artistic practices and cultures. Guo’s stunning work reflects her creative philosophy and journey in haute couture as she innovates on tradition and craftsmanship, revealing the transcendent power of fashion and art.

The Special Exhibition is curated by Ikko Yokoyama, Lead Curator, Design and Architecture, M+, supported by Wen Bi, Assistant Curator, Design and Architecture, M+, and Mankit Lai, Curatorial Assistant, M+, in partnership with Guo and her atelier Rose Studio. It showcases Guo’s creative universe through five main themes that highlight her international career and her unique design journey:

The Joy of Life surveys Guo’s exhilarating collections Garden of Soul (2015) and An Amazing Journey in a Childhood Dream (2007), in which she combines a fascination with nature with her personal memories. In these works, pastoral scenes and fantastical dreamscapes capture the vibrancy of nature and the innocence of childhood. These themes are echoed in paintings and objects from the M+ Collections that are also inspired by fables, fantasies, and the natural world.

New Tales from the East showcases collections that take inspiration from Eastern folktales, exploring ancient cultural forms and symbols with a contemporary twist. 1002 Nights (2009) references the literary work One Thousand and One Nights, while East Palace (2019) incorporates ancient Chinese mythological imagery and imperial motifs to consider the connections between the present and the past. Guo’s 2009 dress The Yellow Queen, a gown weighing twenty-five kilograms with a four-metre-long train, is a spectacular expression of female confidence and strength. It was worn by Rihanna to the Met Gala in New York in 2015. This iconic gown made Guo an international household name and will be shown in this section of the exhibition.

Transcending Space reflects on architecture as a rich source of inspiration for Guo. In Legends (2017) and L’Architecture (2018), she reimagines fashion as moving architecture that envelops the human body by incorporating inspirations from Baroque and Gothic churches. Alongside these works are photographs and paintings from the M+ Collections that reveal how other artists find visual inspiration in architecture.

Ethereal Mythologies highlights Guo’s collections that reimagine Eastern and Western mythologies, exploring their histories, beliefs, and ancestral stories. In Legend of the Dragon (2012), Guo conveys the mythical creature’s majestic beauty and its symbolic significance in Chinese culture. In Elysium (2018), Guo presents an eternal paradise brimming with natural scenes, including creeping roots, blooming flowers, and twisting branches.

On Dreams and Reality reveals Guo’s reflections on time and regeneration. Samsara (2006) explores nature’s rhythms, from the interplay of night and day to the course of life. This collection includes the monumental gown The Magnificent Gold (2006), Guo’s first haute couture piece. The collection Encounter (2016) shows Guo’s use of unconventional fabrics and dramatic colours. This suite of garments embodies her thoughts on causality as well as her belief in dreams as the root of art. This section is complemented by works from the M+ Collections that explore notions of time and the human life cycle.

Public and screening programmes

M+ will present a series of public programmes related to the exhibition, including the public talk The Art of Fashion: In Conversation with Guo Pei, Ikko Yokoyama, and Desiree Au on Saturday, 21 September 2024. There will also be guided tours, workshops, and community and access programmes to engage the public. In response to the exhibition, the October 2024 edition of M+ at Night, with the theme Couture Rhapsody, will showcase a special line-up of music performances, creative workshops, tours, and conversations.

M+ will host four screenings of Yellow Is Forbidden (2018), directed by Pietra Brettkelly, at M+ Cinema on Saturday, 21 September; Sunday, 22 September; Sunday, 20 October; and Sunday, 15 December 2024. Yellow Is Forbidden chronicles Guo’s remarkable journey as she navigates the exclusive and predominantly Western world of haute couture. The documentary follows Guo as she prepares for her highly anticipated spring 2017 haute couture show at the historic Conciergerie during Paris Haute Couture Week. Viewers are given an intimate look at the meticulous work of Guo and her team and her personal challenges as she brings her spectacular vision to life.