V&A to Host Chinese Couturier Guo Pei’s First UK Runway Show
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The Chinese fashion designer Guo Pei has been dressing celebrities, royalty and style icons for over 20 years. To date, however, her work has never been shown on a runway in the United Kingdom. In a landmark event on November 1st, London’s V&A will becoV&A to Host Chinese Couturier Guo Pei’s First UK Runway Show
The Chinese fashion designer Guo Pei has been dressing celebrities, royalty and style icons for over 20 years. To date, however, her work has never been shown on a runway in the United Kingdom. In a landmark event on November 1st, London’s V&A will become the first to host such a show: “Fashion in Motion: Guo Pei”. Guo Pei was born to two members of China’s Communist Party and has recalled the harsh government restrictions on dress codes that were in place during her childhood. Mao suits were considered to be the only correct form of clothing — a far cry from the loose-fitting dresses which have since made her name.The couturier shot into the public eye when she designed Rhianna’s yellow gown for the 2015 Met Gala. The so-called “omelet dress” went viral for its dramatic 16-foot cape which fanned meters behind the pop star, hemmed with yellow fur.Guo Pei followed that moment with her first-ever solo exhibition at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris and, later that year, became the first and only Chinese Guest Member of the Federation de la Haute Couture et de la Mode. In 2016, she was named one of TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People; she is also cited as one of Business of Fashion’s 500 most influential people. With a new studio in Paris, her prominence in the fashion industry looks set to continue its upward trajectory.The event also marks the 20th anniversary of “Fashion in Motion”, the V&A’s series of live fashion events intended to make the catwalk experience accessible to those outside of its usual glamorous crowd. The free-to-attend runway shows have previously featured such celebrated couturiers as Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, and Yohji Yamamoto, but the series also provides a platform for emerging designers.“Fashion in Motion: Guo Pei” will be held in the resplendent surroundings of the V&A’s Raphael Gallery. It will showcase looks from Guo Pei’s AW 2019/20 collection entitled “Alternate Universe Couture”, which was first presented at this year’s Paris Couture Week.The collection is based around a new universe drawn from various mythologies and religious texts; where good and evil live in harmony and magical creatures abound. Animal and insect motifs feature heavily throughout, from the monkeys of Aesop’s Fables to the poisonous snake which lured Eve to steal the forbidden fruit.To capture this new and mystical realm, Guo Pei has combined materials such as pineapple hemp fabric, Lafite embroidery, and her signature three-dimensional embroidery techniques. Her designs combine contemporary innovation with the finest traditional Chinese craftsmanship.Tickets for the three free catwalk shows are available to book online via the V&A website from Monday, October 21. https://www.blouinartinfo.com/ Founder: Louise Blouin Read more