Guo Pei was born in Beijing in 1967 to two members of China’s Communist Party. Her father was a former battalion leader of the People’s Army and her mother a kindergarten teacher. Her love for art and fashion started a very young age, despite her father throwing away her sketches and paintings when she was a child. She started sewing at the age of 2, helping her mother to make clothes for the winter, and quickly developed a passion for dressmaking. During her childhood, Mao suits were considered the only correct form of clothing, but Guo defied this with loose-fitting dresses.

She graduated from the Beijing School of Industrial Fashion Design 1986. She then found a job at one of China’s first privately owned clothing brand manufacturers, Tianma. At that time, there was a sudden demand for fashion from China. She left the company in 1997 to create her own fashion brand, Rose Studio.

Placido Domingo and Song Zuying performing during the closing ceremony at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

In 2008, Guo created the dress for Chinese soprano Song Zuying for her performance with Spanish tenor Placido Domingo at the 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony. The dress took two weeks to craft and was covered with 200,000 Swarovski crystals.

Her “One Thousand and Two Nights” collection debuted in November 2009 during China Fashion Week. American model Carmen Dell’Orefice appeared in the show wearing an elaborate embroidered fur-lined gown, with an escort of four to help carry the train.

Rihanna wearing Guo Pei’s dress at the Met Gala 2015

2015 marked a major turning point for Guo Pei, when pop singer Rihanna chose to wear one of her designs to the Met Gala, inaugurating the museum’s China: Through the Looking Glass exhibition, in which Guo’s works were showcased.

Her dress for Rihanna was a canary yellow floor-length dress with a large circular train, edged with yellow coloured fur and embroidered with silver floral patterns. It took about 50,000 hours in 20 months to craft the dress. Rihanna appeared on the red carpet followed by an escort of a three-people-entourage to hold the large train. The dress weighed about 25 kg!

Guo Pei, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, 2015

In July 2015, Guo held her first solo exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. Later that year, she became an invited member of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, the chief governing body of the high-fashion industry. She made her Paris Haute Couture debut in January 2016, unveiling her “Courtyard” collection.

In 2022, Guo’s work was featured at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Legion of Honor, the most attended exhibition in twenty years at the museum.

Guo’s design practice resonates with regional and global cultural trends over the past century. The exhibition Guo Pei: Fashioning Imagination places her garments in dialogue with the M+ Collections, creating a network of visual and thematic ideas across different media, eras and cultures. It showcases Guo’s creative universe through five main themes.

Guo Pei: Fashioning Imagination, M+

“The Joy of Life” surveys Guo’s exhilarating collections Garden of Soul and An Amazing Journey in a Childhood Dream, 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. 

“New Tales from the East” showcases collections taking inspiration from Eastern folktales, exploring ancient cultural forms and symbols with a contemporary twist. 1002 Nights references the literary work One Thousand and One Nights, while East Palace incorporates ancient Chinese mythological imagery and imperial motifs to consider the connections between the present and the past. The Yellow Queen worn by Rihanna at the MET Gala is showcased here.

Guo Pei: Fashioning Imagination, M+

“Transcending Space” reflects on architecture as a rich source of inspiration for Guo. In Legends and L’Architecture, she reimagines fashion as moving architecture that envelops the human body by incorporating inspirations from Baroque and Gothic churches. 

“Ethereal Mythologies” highlights Guo’s collections that reimagine Eastern and Western mythologies, exploring their histories, beliefs, and ancestral stories. In Legend of the Dragon, Guo conveys the mythical creature’s majestic beauty and its symbolic significance in Chinese culture. In Elysium, 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 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, Guo’s first haute couture piece. The collection Encounter shows Guo’s use of unconventional fabrics and dramatic colours. 

Guo Pei: Fashioning Imagination is on view at M+ until 6 April 2025. More details here.