Hello Friday! Here’s to a restful and wonderful weekend ahead for all of us! I wanted to share this post about the Guo Pei fashion exhibition in Singapore (till 15th September, visit it if you haven’t already done so!) since last month, but there’s just been a lot going on. Better late than never, right? So here’s sharing some inspiration for the weekend! :)
My sister and I are both enthusiasts of the arts and culture scene, particularly on the museums and make it a point to keep an eye on the exhibitions here in Singapore. I’ve noticed that the museums here have been making bigger strides in the last decade which I appreciate, but will say that sometimes, they simply can’t get it right (sorry). When they do, however, the results are excellent!
An example of this is the recent exhibition by the Asian Civilisations Museum, Guo Pei: Chinese Art and Couture, featuring a 29 piece selection of the Chinese fashion designer’s most well known works. As a huge fan of the designer, I was so excited to hear about this exhibition, and for the opportunity to get to see her creations up close and in person. The exquisite details, embroidery and beautiful design on each and every single piece are incredible!
I thought the exhibition itself was curated pretty well by ACM, showcasing the designs in groups of works such as wedding gowns, flower themed, dragon themed, etc. The whole exhibition was kept very dark though, making all photos come out dark and some details like the matching shoes for each piece unclear for viewing – a pity. (If you’re thinking it was kept dark to protect the pieces, the thought crossed my mind too, but I saw videos of another recent Guo Pei exhibition in the US, and the lighting was a lot brighter, so I’m not sure what the darkness is for.)
That aside, I was so excited to see the world famous 黄皇后 gown (loosely translated as “Yellow Empress”) Rihanna wore to the 2015 Met Gala and the beautiful 大金 piece (loosely translated as “magnificent gold gown”) which I learned was considered a personal milestone for the designer, as she created it without worrying about the cost or whether it could sell. :)
Personally, I’m a huge fan of almost all of Guo Pei’s designs, but I managed to narrow down my top two favourites in this exhibition: the 青花瓷 creation (translated as “blue and white porcelain”), inspired by blue and white Chinese porcelain pieces and the 宫花 piece (translated as “Palace Flower”), which has quite a story behind it. (Video link here where Guo Pei shares the story and effort behind creating this special piece.)
While browsing online, I came across this video of one of the designer’s fashion shows, and it showcases several pieces from this exhibition! :) I loved seeing the beautiful pieces in motion, so wanted to share it here too!
If you’re interested in hearing more from the designer, I really enjoyed watching this feature interview on Guo Pei by the Wall Street Journal and learning more about her story, inspirations and her career.
Overall, I’m very happy that we’re having such exciting exhibitions in Singapore this 2019 (see my post on the Wonderland exhibition here!) and I hope to see even more to come in the years ahead!
Guo Pei: Chinese Art and Couture is exhibiting from 15 June to 15 September 2019 at the Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore.
Extra links:
> Exhibition webpage
> Guo Pei’s website, Facebook page and Instagram
