Guo Pei – couture de force

 

 

 

I recently visited the NGV Triennial to get some images of the art on display and couturier Guo Pei’s fascinating 2017 spring-summer Legend Collection was of particular interest. The low light ambience for her ornate costumes captured the mood of her designs although it  presented a few photography (without flash) challenges and the needed shutter speed of  1/4 sec tested my camera steadiness. The lavish gold costumes placed on black mannequins gave the impression of a ‘Black Madonna’, especially with the ‘Gold Memory’ gown.

Early in 2016, Guo Pei was preparing for her next collection and visited a small antique shop in a Paris flea market. In a box containing glass beads, old buttons and strips of lace, she found several spools of gold embroidery floss produced a few decades ago. The shop owner informed her that the floss was once a favourite material of couture designers. Without hesitation, Guo bought all the gold thread in the shop, and used it in the embroidery work for her Legend Collection. As she believes gold is the colour of the soul, it was an appropriate choice for the theme of her collection.

 

‘Golden goddess’  — Guo Pei  

(metallic fabric, silk, embroidery, crystals)

 

‘Legends have always been one of my greatest sources of inspiration’, claimed Guo Pei. ‘The origins of mankind, creation myths and the mysteries of eternal life fascinate me. A part of my soul will always hold onto the most beautiful fantasies inspired by legends.’ Guo Pei’s fantastical designs in her Legends Collection are steeped in classical imagery, reinforced by the use of rich brocades, opulent silks, delicate embroidery, spun gold and bead and crystal details, all hand sown with total dedication to the handcraft traditions of couture. Contemporary elements are also merged into her imaginative designs, resulting in a fusion of oriental culture, classical fantasy and modern avant garde, combined with an inspiring mix of textures and colour. The dazzling array of her beguiling costumes, created by Guo Pei and her skillful team of artisans, convey a grandeur worthy of royal or religious ceremonial dress. Romance, mystique, devotional reverence, Renaissance art, Gothic fairy tales, medieval warriors and heavenly goddesses are all channeled into her Legends collection on display at e the NGV Triennial. The Legend collection reveals an enchanting display of  Guo Pei’s reflections on the spirit of devotion, her appreciation of handicrafts, and her perception of divine power.

 

→The NGV Triennial is running till the 15th April, 2018

 

 

‘Angel gown’ (silk)

NGV Triennial

 

The baroque cathedral of St. Gallen in Switzerland was an inspiration for the Legends collection. She was captivated by the impressive ethereal murals, its dome and the rich gold ornaments. Guo Pei spent 18 months working with haute couture fabric manufacturer Jakob Schlaepfer to design the bespoke fabric for this collection. These fabrics pay tribute to the cathedral’s beautiful painted interiors.

 

 

 

 

Guo Pei designed Red goddess (metallic fabric, silk, embroidery, crystals)

‘Red Goddess’  — Guo Pei, NGV Triennial

(metallic fabric, silk, embroidery, crystals)

 

 

Warrior gown (organza, metal) NGV

‘Warrior gown’  — Guo Pei

(organza, metal)

 

 

Angel gown with gold detail

 

 

Guo Pei silk and gold dress

Guo Pei silk and gold dress

 

 

 

Gold memory gown (metallic fabric, silk, embroidery, crystals)

‘Gold memory gown’  —  Guo Pei

(metallic fabric, silk, embroidery, crystals)

 Woven with metal fibre and silk thread, the fabric weighs 0.89kg per metre.

 

 

Guo Pei NGV exhibition

Go Pei Legends Collection

 

 

Guo Pei green and gold dress with silk, polyester, polyvinyl chloride, embroidery

 

 

‘Luminous spirit’ – Guo Pei

(polyvinyl chloride)

 

 

‘White goddess’ — Guo Pei

(metallic fabric, silk, embroidery, crystals)

 

 

Feathered gown by Guo Pei - 2017

Feathered gown – Guo Pei

 

 

Guo Pei -- Cross-decorated-dress-(silk,-gold-foil,-crystals)

Cross decorated dress — Guo Pei

(silk, gold foil, crystals)

 

Ornate Lantern sleeve gown - Guo Pei

Lantern sleeve gown – Guo Pei

 

 

Red Goddess gown Guo Pei

Red goddess gown – Guo Pei

 

 

 Legend Collection, Spring 2017 Haute Couture by Guo Pei

 

 

 Guo Pei-spring-summer collection

Guo Pei  Legend Collection, NGV

 

 

Guo Pei Legends Collection -- Spring 2017 Couture - Paris Fashion Week

Guo Pei Spring 2017 Couture – Paris Fashion Week

Photo – Marcus Tondo

 

Guo Pei Legends Collection — Spring 2017 Couture – Paris Fashion Week

Photo – Marcus Tondo

 

Guo Pei Legends Collection — Spring 2017 Couture – Paris Fashion Week

Photo – Marcus Tondo

 

Guo Pei Legends Collection — Spring 2017 Couture – Paris Fashion Week

Photo – Marcus Tondo

 

 

Guo Pei Elysium-Spring-Summer-2018

Elysium Spring Summer 2018  —  Guo Pei

 

 

 

Hong Kong Fashion Week 2010 outfit by Guo Pei

Guo Pei – Hong Kong Fashion Week 2010

 

 

Guo-Pei NYC Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute China Through the Looking Glass

Guo Pei NYC Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute ‘China Through the Looking Glass’

This gown has a Buddhist iconography influence with the bodice being shaped like a lotus flower,

 

 

Black and white ceramic tile inspired dress - Guo Pei

Hong Kong Fashion Week 2010

 

 

A model wearing a Chinese blue and white porcelain inspired dress - Guo Pei

Chinese blue and white porcelain inspired dress – Guo Pei

Hong Kong Fashion Week 2010

 

 

Goi Pei dress

FIDÉ fashion week in Singapore, 2013

 

 

Guo Pei Fashion Show-Singapore 2013

Guo Pei —   FIDÉ fashion week in Singapore, 2013

 

 

Guo Pei —  FIDÉ fashion week in Singapore

2013

 

Hong Kong Fashion Week 2010

Hong Kong Fashion Week 2010

 

 

Guo-Pei'Legend-of-the-Dragon'-dress-from-the-Asian-Couture-Evening

Guo Pei  ‘Legend of the Dragon’ dress

 

 

Guo Pei, dress from 'The Legend of the Dragon' Show

Guo Pei gown from ‘The Legend of the Dragon’ Show

 

 

Guo Pei Fashion Show-FIDÉ fashion week in Singapore

Guo Pei Fashion Show FIDÉ fashion week in Singapore, 2013

 

 

Golden dragon dress -- Guo Pei

Guo Pei  ‘Legend of the Dragon’ dress

 

 

Guo+Pei+Hong+Kong+Fashion Week

Hong Kong Fashion Week 2010– Guo Pei

 

 

Guo Pei with model

Guo Pei

photo by Pari Dukovic for The New Yorker

 

 

Guo-Pei-Singapore-Fashion-Week Dragon embroidery

Guo Pei  Singapore Fashion Week

 

 

Guo-Pei--Spring-2018 Model in blue and gold

Guo Pei–2018

 

 

Model in blue and gold dress by Guo Pei

Guo Pei–2018

 

 

Guo Pei, dress from The Legend of the Dragon Fashion Show,-2012

Guo Pei, dress from ‘The Legend of the Dragon’ Show

 

 

More art from the NGV

 

Vespers Series – — Neri Oxman and Mediated Matters Group

NGV Triennial

 

Uji Handoko Eko Saputro, a mix of Javanese mythology with popular culture

Uji Handoko Eko Saputro, a mix of Javanese mythology with popular youth culture

NGV Triennial

 

 

Half Figure” (1933) by Henry Moore. marble sculpture

“Half Figure” (1933) by Henry Moore.

 

 

Cocijo, God of rain in the Zapotec culture. He made the sun, the moon, stars, mountains, rivers, animals, plants, day and night. He exhaled and believed everything of his breath

Cocijo, God of rain in the Zapotec culture.

Oaxaca, Mexico, Mesoamerica

 

 

 

Nick-Cave---Soundsuit figure sculpture

Nick Cave— ‘Soundsuit’

NGV Triennial

 

 

Pae White, USA, ‘Spearmint to Peppermint’ , cotton, polyester

NGV Triennial

 

 

Warrior priest impersonating Xiuhtecuhtli Remojadas, Veracruz, Gulf Coast, Mexico

Warrior priest impersonating Xiuhtecuhtli
Veracruz, Mexico – 300 CE-500 CE

 

 

 

Large vase Dalton-and-Co-Decorator-John-Eyre

Dalton and Co –  Decorator John Eyre

 

 

Picasso vase, Madoura Pottery, Vallauris

1950

 

 

Picasso Vase, Madoura Pottery 1950 Vallauris

Picasso vase, Madoura Pottery

1950

 

Pilgrim flask Minton,-Stoke on Trent

Pilgrim flask  —  Minton, Stoke on Trent, England

NGV

 

 

Chinese Seated female-700 CE 750 CE

Chinese Seated female

700 CE 750 CE

 

 

‘The Weeping Woman’ – Picasso

1937

 

 

Eternity-Buddha in Nirvana - NGV

Eternity Buddha in Nirvana – Xu Zhen, China

NGV Triennial

 

 

1 Comment

  1. Liz
    Posted March 31, 2018 at 1:24 am | Permalink

    The gowns are absolutely beautiful!

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