Every Picture

Legion of Honor

In August 2022, I visited the Guo Pei: Couture Fantasy exhibit at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco. It featured over 80 pieces from China's first couturier, Guo Pei. Through a blend of everything from Chinese imperial history to European architecture to Buddhist symbolism, Guo Pei's designs are extravagant pieces that blur the line between fashion, art, and sculpture.

As a Chinese Studies, International Relations, and Design triple major, this exhibit had a bit of everything I am interested in. I want to introduce a few pieces that stood out to me and explore their cultural relevance.

Blue and White Porcelain

Blue and white porcelain is a valuable, coveted type of ceramic ware that is traditionally decorated with blue cobalt pigment on a white porcelain base. It gained popularity around the 14th hundreds and quickly spread to other nations.

Blue and White Porcelain Reimagined

Guo Pei reimagined the blue and white porcelain as dresses, which were revealed in her 1002 Nights collection in 2010.

The dress shown on the right includes a porcelain vase as a headpiece. The vase is inside a crystal-encrusted, fan-shaped pane, whose zigzag pattern is reminiscent of the cracks of broken ice, common in ceramic glazes of the Song dynasty.

Dragon Robe

The dragon robe, or long pao, was worn by the emperors of China. This dragon robe originated from Qianlong Emperor's reign during the Qing Dynasty. To explore the many intricate details of the dragon robe, hover over the hotspots.

Dragon Robe Reimagined

Guo Pei reimagined the dragon robe by blending Chinese imperial fashion with European fashion to create a sleek tailored overcoat decorated in elements that could be found on a dragon robe such as dragons, waves, and clouds.

Other Notable Pieces