China’s queen of couture brings her touch to Sotheby’s
● China’s leading couturier, Guo Pei, has teamed up with auction house Sotheby’s for a New York sale.
Pei will show seven ornate, gold-threaded looks from her 2019 Paris couture collection alongside such treasures as a porcelain vase from the 1500s and a gold Han dynasty peacock (200BCE to CE200), drawing together precious metals from the East and West. Although Pei is a traditionalist, specialising in advanced versions of sewing techniques dating back 2,000 years, she remains the most modern of couturiers, dressing Beyoncé, Lady Gaga and Rihanna.
At 2015’s Met gala, the most high-profile event on the New York fashion calendar, Rihanna’s canary-yellow caped gown required three people to carry the train. Pei worried that the star would not be able to stand up in the weighty dress, but she did.
“Much of the detail was in the back of that gown,” said Pei. “With my dresses, the back is the best part. It tells the story of the dress.” Pei is the first Chinese designer admitted as a guest member to the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture in Paris. At her headquarters in Beijing, she employs 500 people, including 300 embroiderers.
“We have our own technique which cannot be learnt anywhere else, so people join us at the beginning of their careers and learn everything. We don’t employ people who have already learnt other techniques,” she said.
The brand has showrooms in Beijing,
Shanghai and Macau.
“We even make the fabrics. I design an outline for an idea and then brief our textile technicians on what I would like. It can take up to a year.”
Pei’s gowns are worn by all of China’s leading ladies and her elegant silhouettes have been compared to those of Charles James, the American-English designer who was famous for his ball gowns.
On show at Sotheby’s are her padded undergarments, Mongolian horsebackrider inspired sleeves, embroidered Western winged dragons (Chinese versions are wingless) and thousands of waterfall-representing crystals.
Pei’s fabrics feature stories and patterns from Chinese folklore. That was part of the appeal for pairing with Sotheby’s.
“During my couture show people are unable to see details on the gowns,” she said. “The looks are shown in a way similar to ready-towear, yet the work is so much more detailed. We can show the creativity of the artist and the emotions that the artist has put into it.”
One piece worth such scrutiny is Xiao Jin, or Little Gold, a richly crafted kneelength dress created by Pei’s workshop for her first couture show in 2006. As a piece of fashion history, it’s not for sale although a Guo Pei bridal gown is, with an estimated price of £500,000 to £700,000 (about R9m-10m).