M+, Asia’s global museum of contemporary visual culture in the West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong, hosted an opening ceremony tonight for its Special Exhibition Guo Pei: Fashioning Imagination, the first major exhibition in East Asia of celebrated Chinese couture artist Guo Pei (Chinese, born 1967). Guo Pei: Fashioning Imagination features more than forty haute couture show pieces loaned from Guo’s atelier Rose Studio. They are placed in dialogue with works of art and design from the M+ Collections, creating a network of visual and thematic ideas across artistic practices and cultures. The exhibition will be held in the museum’s Main Hall Gallery with an additional presentation in the public area of the Main Hall on the museum’s ground floor. It will open to the public from this Saturday, 21 September 2024 to Sunday, 6 April 2025. Guo Pei: Fashioning Imagination is generously supported by Lead Sponsor HSBC and Travel Partner Cathay.

The opening ceremony of Guo Pei: Fashioning Imagination this evening was officiated by Bernard Chan, Chairman of the M+ Board; Betty Fung, Chief Executive Officer, West Kowloon Cultural District Authority; Suhanya Raffel, Museum Director, M+; exhibition curator Ikko Yokoyama, Lead Curator, Design and Architecture, M+; Guo Pei; Luanne Lim, Chief Executive Officer, Hong Kong, HSBC; and Chairman of Rose Studio and Guo Pei Paris. ​

Bernard Chan, Chairman of the M+ Board, says, ‘M+ is honoured to present this exhibition as part of our ongoing efforts to sustain and promote contemporary visual culture. We hope that visitors will not only appreciate the exquisite couture craftsmanship on display, but also consider the artistry of fashion design and its associations with contemporary visual culture. This aligns perfectly with M+’s vision of fostering cultural dialogue.’

Luanne Lim, Chief Executive, Hong Kong, HSBC, says, ‘We’re genuinely delighted to collaborate with M+ to present the works of another world-renowned female Asian artist in Hong Kong, following the Special Exhibition of Yayoi Kusama’s art. Madame Guo has dedicated her life to creating beauty and spreading joy through her art. At HSBC, we believe in inspiring people to broaden their horizons, connecting capital, people, and their ambitions to opportunities around the world. Our mission is to bring the best of the world to Hong Kong and the best of Hong Kong to the world. This is why we are immensely proud to be the Lead Partner of M+ and to support this magnificent exhibition.’

Ikko Yokoyama, Lead Curator, Design and Architecture, M+, says, ‘Guo Pei: Fashioning Imagination is the first large-scale exhibition in East Asia dedicated to the legendary couture artist Guo Pei. The exhibition journeys through Guo’s rich universe, charting her profound cultural references, dreamlike designs, supreme craftsmanship, and transcendent creations that have made a deep impact in the worlds of fashion and popular culture. By exhibiting her fantastic collections and career-defining garments alongside works from the M+ Collections, we invite visitors to consider the artistry of fashion design and its associations with contemporary visual culture.’

Guo Pei says, ‘It is a great pleasure to have my work spotlighted by M+, an acclaimed museum of contemporary visual culture in Asia. The exhibition marks an important milestone in my career, bringing decades of my creations to life through artistic conversations in a global museum. I am excited to share my work and ideas with audiences across cultures, who may look at these pieces from different points of view and appreciate them in new ways.’

Guo Pei is among China’s first generation of contemporary fashion designers. Spanning nearly four decades, her practice resonates with Asian and global cultural trends over the past century. Guo’s highly imaginative work blends historic Chinese craftsmanship with global inspirations, Western tailoring, and haute couture, the high-end dressmaking practice that originated in nineteenth-century Europe. At the forefront of rejuvenating traditional Chinese embroidery, Guo and her team have adapted many embroidery techniques and couture craftsmanship, reviving this intangible cultural heritage to continue its legacy and injecting it with cross-cultural influences.

Guo Pei: Fashioning Imagination is curated by Ikko Yokoyama, Lead Curator, Design and Architecture, M+, supported by Wen Bi, Assistant Curator, Design and Architecture, M+, and Mankit Lai, Curatorial Assistant, M+, in partnership with Guo and her atelier Rose Studio. Guo’s stunning work reflects her creative philosophy and journey in haute couture as she innovates on tradition and craftsmanship, revealing the transcendent power of fashion and art.

Ticketing arrangements

Tickets to the Special Exhibition are available for online purchase via the M+ website, WestK District website, WestK App, Cityline, China Travel Service (Hong Kong) Limited, Klook, KKday, and Trip.com. The Special Exhibition ticket is priced at HKD 160 for adults and HKD 80 for visitors eligible for concessions*. Visitors with Special Exhibition tickets can access Guo Pei: Fashioning Imagination and all M+ General Admission exhibitions starting from Saturday, 21 September 2024. For more information on ticketing arrangements, please visit the M+ website.

I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture, another Special Exhibition, is on display in the West Gallery until 5 January 2025. Bundle tickets for Guo Pei: Fashioning Imagination and I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture are priced at HKD 240 for adults and HKD 120 for visitors eligible for concessions*, allowing visitors to visit both Special Exhibitions on the same day, in addition to all General Admission exhibitions.

*Concession tickets are available for full-time students, children ages 7 to 11, senior citizens ages 60 and above, persons with disabilities and one companion, and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients. ­

M+ Membership

M+’s annual membership and patron membership offer an exclusive experience of contemporary visual culture for people of all ages and backgrounds. All M+ Members with valid memberships can enjoy three free admission vouchers to Special Exhibitions throughout the membership year, including Guo Pei: Fashioning Imagination and I. M. Pei: Life Is Architecture. Meanwhile, M+ Patrons can enjoy unlimited free admission to all exhibitions with up to three guests per visit. M+ Members and Patrons can also enjoy exclusive previews to Special Exhibitions prior to public opening and thirty to fifty per cent discounts on Special Exhibition tickets. Other membership benefits include unlimited free access to General Admission exhibitions, exclusive access to the M+ Lounge, M+ Private Viewing, invitation to exclusive events, as well as dining and retail discounts. For more information, please visit the M+ website.

About Guo Pei

Guo Pei (Chinese, born 1967) is a visionary creator whose haute couture designs changed the landscape and status of Chinese fashion. She is among the country’s first generation of fashion designers in the reform and opening era. Her career began when she graduated from the Beijing Industry and Trade Technician College in 1986. In 1997, she founded Rose Studio in Beijing, China’s first couture studio and bespoke fashion house. Her Paris office opened in 2015, and starting in 2016, Guo was invited to deliver ten couture shows for Paris Haute Couture Week in five consecutive years.

In 2015, two of Guo’s designs were showcased in the exhibition China: Through the Looking Glass at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. At the Met Gala in 2015, the singer Rihanna wore The Yellow Queen from the 1002 Nights collection, which earned widespread acclaim. In the same year, Guo was invited to join the prestigious Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode.

Apart from her haute couture work, Guo’s illustrious career also includes designing outfits for the awards ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and costumes for hosts and performers at the annual CCTV New Year’s Gala for many years. She has made bespoke garments and wedding dresses for numerous high-profile clients, often interpreting traditional elements as she pioneers the aesthetics of contemporary Asian dress.

About M+

M+ is a museum dedicated to collecting, exhibiting, and interpreting visual art, design and architecture, moving image, and Hong Kong visual culture of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. In Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District (WestK), it is one of the largest museums of modern and contemporary visual culture in the world, with a bold ambition to establish ourselves as one of the world’s leading cultural institutions. M+ is a new kind of museum that reflects our unique time and place, a museum that builds on Hong Kong’s historic balance of the local and the international to define a distinctive and innovative voice for Asia’s twenty-first century.

About the West Kowloon Cultural District (WestK)

WestK is one of the largest and most ambitious cultural projects in the world. Its vision is to create a vibrant new cultural quarter for Hong Kong on forty hectares of reclaimed land located alongside Victoria Harbour. With a varied mix of theatres, performance spaces, and museums, WestK produces and hosts world-class exhibitions, performances, and cultural events, providing twenty-three hectares of public open space, including a two-kilometre waterfront promenade.