Mobile Menu
A production of surreal fantasy, the Vancouver Art Gallery’s collaboration with Chinese couture designer Guo Pei, blends fashion and history together. Through a guided tour at the gallery, you receive an in-depth, piece by piece, learning session about Guo Pei’s background, inspiration, and production. Each room in the gallery, explores a unique set of designs, that both pop and stun the audience. At first glance, some pieces seem simple, until you are immersed in the beautiful designs which are a spectacle. Embroidered by hundreds of working hands, the fabrics themselves, are some of the finest, and richest to ever be manufactured. The lighting in the gallery helps to create depth in the work, and truly puts these couture workings at the forefront of every room you step into. Even the mannequin’s stand tall upon the gallery, displaying their porcelain sculpted silhouettes draped in regal wealth, creating even more distance between viewer and the art itself.
Every component of each design, has been carefully considered, and planned according to each complimentary piece. Intricate crowns, blooming masks, statement shoes, all help to make every outfit a standalone masterpiece. One design glows, with polished pearls that float off the arms of the mannequin, to create an elegant, yet simple look. It seems simple, but when you stop to think about the amount of work, the painstaking hours devoted to perfecting each design, you realize just how intricate every piece from the collection is. Knowing that people worked non-stop, around the clock, for months, to fulfill a demand for perfection, affirms how much of a spectacle it is to be immersed in these designs.
Guo Pei, does a fantastic job at creating depth in the work, and her attention to detail is impeccable. To bring a collection like this, to the western world, is both a blessing and a challenge. A blessing for those who are to marvel and critique such unique, designs, and a challenge to the gallery and Guo Pei to get these designs across the world without damaging them. It was unavoidable that these pieces would be damaged in delivery, and Guo Pei sent over help to piece each design back together, yet it is impossible to tell that they were ever incomplete as the piece’s tower over the gallery walls.
Fantasy designs depict the rise of the phoenix, where plumes of feathers are seen and golden wings are prominent. Other designs imitate 1920’s and 1940’s women’s fashion looks, that could be worn today with confidence and luxury. None of the work displayed could be worn casually, instead, each piece has its own unique statement look.
If you haven’t had the chance to see Couture Beyond, be sure to make time for it. The exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery runs from October 13, 2018 - January 20, 2019. Go and get lost in the works of Guo Pei, be yet another who marvels at the detail and overall phenomenon displayed in this elaborate exhibit in Vancouver.
