« Life and death are never just religious propositions or philosophical thoughts, it is also a domain which artists never stop exploring and expressing. Approaching middle-age, life and death are no longer just poetry chants. With the loss of beloved ones, you wonder what it will be like when the journey ends. Since death is inevitable, I prefer to imagine it as a dream, an alternate universe parallel to this world, where everything returns to it’s original state of true pureness and beauty. It is the start of a mysterious journey. » —Guo Pei
Guo Pei presented her Autumn/Winter 2019/20 Couture collection at the Beaux-Arts de Paris during fashion week. China’s most renowned couturier tells a story of an Alternate Universe between life and death, crows signifying wisdom, devils, angels, spiders, butterflies, greek godesses, and references to the Baroque and Renaissance era.
Creative director is known to incorporate ancient techniques that date back hundreds of years in order to develop her own contemporary design. This season she used pineapple hemp fabric that is much appreciated in the Philippines. This approach is very unique and consists of 7 manual procedures. The results of this textile allows for a Greek style shape resembling goddesses in Greek mythology also portraying wisdom like the crow.
Crows not only appeared on the arch at the entrance of the runway. However, many looks had crows on shoulders, as head pieces, sewn onto the front of dresses and as props to enhance looks. Other props included white spectacular vines coming from what looks like a wound referencing that from death flourishes the growth of life, beetles, spiders, butterflies and bees as friends of the crow, beautiful embroidered headpieces in shape of horns like satan, and monkeys as Guo Pei explains that humans have animal nature.
The first look made a sensational entrance as the two models were in the same dress slowly walking down taking all the spectators breaths away. On the attire was the fascinating embroidery deligently made of the encounter of life and death leading us into an otherworldy journey.
In addition, garments resembled that of goblins in mini dresses in gold with covered shoulders and brown feathered details with evil eyes on the upper legs beaming into the audiences gazes. Sheer light fabrics giving a flow volumous silhouette, exquisite down to the knee dresses covered in shiny pearls, outlined roses in black and white, and nets surrounding a beautiful skin-tone design resembling a birds nest.
Guo Pei introduced us to her personal alternate universe as a story through her creations and ended the final look with an unforgettable piece completely full of vivid flowers reminding us of the beauty in life.
