In Conversation With Chinese Couturier Guo Pei About Her SS'18 Haute Couture Collection And Clothing Empire
A story of determination, endeavour, and artistry: how the designer penetrated haute couture’s elite circle with outfits suited to the likes of a traditional bride.
The 2015 Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) Gala was a breakout moment for China. Most notably, it marked the opening of the Costume Institute’s “China: Through the Looking Glass” exhibition, which went on to become the Met’s fifth most-visited shows of all time. But it was also the moment when Rihanna wore a fur-trimmed creation, elaborately embroidered with scrolls and scrolls of flora, designed by couturier Guo Pei on the red carpet that introduced the Chinese designer to a global audience. The cape and gown—in a glorious golden yellow, a colour once reserved for the emperor of China—with 50,000 hours of hand-embroidery, took Pei and her team nearly two years to make. And, despite the various memes likening it to an omelette and a whole load of collective Internet chuckles, it has since been dubbed one of the best Met Gala dresses of all time.
Pei might have unexpectedly been catapulted onto the international stage, but she’s managed to find a foothold. She’s become a regular presence in the Parisian fashion circles and her work continues to earn accolades across the globe. Being the only Chinese fashion designer to officially be enlisted on the couture week cheat sheet in Paris, Pei’s extraordinary imagination has been well-received by the fashion industry—partly because her deft-cutting design skills continue to elevate her pursuit of handcrafting to the sublime.
Today, the number of Chinese designers is on the rise, but few have managed to fully establish themselves on the international stages in Paris, New York, London, and Milan. For those who have made it, high fashion is still primarily the domain for people who’ve honed their skills in the West—studying, training, and basing their careers there. This is mainly due to the fact that Chinese, long known for their manufacturing skills, did not pay much attention to the country’s unfathomable roots in culture and history. And, during this time of inattentive yearning for aesthetics, Pei remembers her first fashion memory as a child when she used her mother’s fabrics to make skirts and blouses, altering them repeatedly for a better fit.
Having been born and brought up in the Haidian District of Beijing, the 51-year-old’s obsession with the Presidential Palace’s exquisite designs and architectural shapes made her explore uncharted territories in the world of fashion. “I set up my own company and cultivated my team to meet my heart’s desires and standards,” Pei tells us with a sense of nostalgia. “Since a very young age, I have always followed my inner voice, which has led me to create new innovations and breakthroughs in design,” she adds. Pei credits her loyal couture clientele for keeping her business going, with some already owning up to hundreds of her pieces. It is this kind of unequivocal support from her customers over the past 17 or 18 years that has kept Pei pushing further in her career. So, how does a design process start in her atelier? Pei affirms, “Our design process can be likened to nurturing a life. When I am touched or inspired by something around me, I will commit my thoughts to paper and translate my ideas via strenuous craftsmanship and painstaking effort.” Keeping in mind the ethos of couture, Pei’s team hand-selects exquisite fabrics that are customised to the likes of each client. After the selection, a prototype for every design is hand-draped on a mannequin. After careful assessment, the prototype is transferred to the final fabric, on which seamstresses carry out their embroidery work.
Pei’s SS ’18 haute couture collection is named ‘Elysium’—a fantasy island of eternal happiness. “In preparation for the collection, I studied a great deal of ancient plants and exotic flowers with my design team,” she tells us. “Using their exquisite shapes, I hope to express my perception of life through the collection,” she adds. Naturally sourced fabrics are hand-decorated with gemstones and crystals. “The opening dress of the show was made entirely out of bamboo, sourced from Huangshan, Anhui,” she beams, talking about the fascinating details of the collection. The creative stage design is equally important for Pei to stage her show. So, to add a mythical element, a tree, nearly eight metres in diameter, was suspended over the centre of the show space. “The tree’s roots were hand-made by the famous French paper artist Charles Macaire and the white roots symbolise the origin of life and a source of vitality,” Pei tells us. And though, in today’s faced-paced world, embraced with digital technology, not a lot of brands focus on craftsmanship, Pei’s couture garments take months to create—after all, the French regard haute couture almost next to godliness (slightly below food). Talking about the importance of all things hand-made, Pei shares, “Once, I visited a small town known for its textile production, expecting to see artists working on their crafts, instead, I saw a few semi-automatic machines being used to manufacture fabrics. I was deeply disappointed and helpless.” She adds, “In my opinion, craftsmanship contains ingenuity and skills inherited from generations before—the beauty created is irreplaceable. Compared to cold technology and mass production, hand creations are reminiscent of the value and history of a certain culture.” Talking about India as a market for couture, she says, “India is deeply-rooted in its bridal culture and has an aristocracy, which appreciates high-level craftsmanship. From traditional to wedding wear, I see lots of handcrafted garments passed down from generations. Hence, the country is much more open to accepting couture.”
Pei is also the subject of the documentary, Yellow Is Forbidden, which was released last month. Directed by award-winning documentarian Pietra Brettkelly, the film charts the Chinese designer’s fierce ambition to be recognised by Paris’ Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. The film’s title refers to Pei’s mother’s belief that “nobody should wear yellow”, because it is the colour of the Chinese emperors.
“I accepted the invitation to be featured in Brettkelly’s documentary without considering too much—it was one of those decisions I made based on my instinct,” Pei tells us. Brettkelly followed the designer for two years while she was preparing for her SS’17 couture show at the La Conciergerie in Paris. “Her [Brettkelly] team was particularly experienced and they remained discreet while following me with the camera. They integrated so well into my surroundings that I quickly forgot the camera was around,” Pei shares, telling us how Brettkelly captured a lot of meaningful and crucial moments in those two years. The documentary’s footage also dips between the daily minute and intensive labour behind Pei’s creations, and the wider challenges she faces as a Chinese designer determined to uphold her heritage, while running a modern, lucrative business. In the documentary, Pei reveals, “If I use the words haute couture the French will blacklist me for life; they own this official stamp of recognition.” She adds, “No matter how famous you are in China, in Paris you start from zero…Though China is rich in culture, they’re prejudiced against us because we’re from the East.”
But even with such criticism, Pei has resurrected methods of tailoring popular during Chinese dynasties that were purged in the cultural destruction of the ’60s and ’70s. It is safe to say that her thriving couture business and globally-acclaimed, majestic avant-garde creations—a slither of flesh at the waist or a jigsaw of fabrics forming fifty shades of gold—are only a sidebar to the main story: Guo Pei is a force to be reckoned with.
All images: courtesy.