Fashioning Imagination

M+, Asia’s leading museum of contemporary visual culture, presents Guo Pei: Fashioning Imagination, the first major East Asian exhibition of China’s renowned couture artist. The show, supported by Lead Sponsor HSBC, runs through April 6th, 2025, and is hosted in the Main Hall Gallery and public spaces of the museum in Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District.

Featuring over 40 haute couture masterpieces, the exhibition explores Guo’s extraordinary career through five thematic sections. Her designs are paired with art and design works from the M+ Collections, highlighting her fusion of traditional Chinese craftsmanship with global aesthetics. Guo’s work has revitalized embroidery techniques, blending cultural heritage with cutting-edge creativity.

Key pieces include The Yellow Queen, the 25-kilogram gown with a four-meter train worn by Rihanna at the 2015 Met Gala, which features in New Tales from the East. This iconic design symbolizes confidence and reinvents imperial Chinese motifs. Another standout, Garden of Soul, from The Joy of Life, features fairy-like figures and floral details inspired by nature and childhood dreams.

Other sections, such as Transcending Space, highlight Guo’s architectural inspirations with collections like Legends (2017), while Ethereal Mythologies explores reimagined folklore, including Legend of the Dragon (2012), which celebrates this iconic Chinese symbol’s grace and power.

Curated by Ikko Yokoyama, Lead Curator of Design and Architecture at M+, the exhibition immerses visitors in Guo’s visionary world. Programming includes an opening talk by Guo, workshops, guided tours, and screenings of Yellow Is Forbidden, a documentary on her couture journey.

Guo Pei: Fashioning Imagination offers an inspiring look at one of couture’s most visionary figures, showcasing how fashion transcends boundaries to become art.