Since Rihanna wore that “pancake dress” at the 2015 Met Gala, Guo Pei has become synonymous with Chinese fashion to many in the West.
But very few know that besides her haute couture collections shown in Paris since 2016, she has built a sizable bridal empire in China, dressing some of the biggest celebrity couples, the wealthiest families and, more importantly, everyday people who simply want to look their best during the most important occasion in their life.
She makes garments with techniques old and new from around the world and is pushing for a shift in Chinese society from wearing Western styles to reimagined Chinese traditional ensembles for the main ceremony.
In an interview with WWD, Guo revealed that the change was decades in the making.
“Now an increasing number of younger Chinese people are choosing to be wedded in Chinese bridal outfits if you have to choose one. They will rent a Western-style gown for the wedding and pay for a bespoke Chinese-style one. Before that, Western-style was more popular and the Chinese outfit was mostly seen at the post-ceremony dinner party,” she observed.
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“I have been designing for four decades. I know too well how China has changed. When China reopened to the world in the ’80s, we believed everything from the West is better because we had nothing. It wasn’t until the 21st century that we began to have a sense of self-awareness, and it took another decade before we began to have a clear understanding of our own identity.
“Many of the big celebrities are wearing my designs for their weddings because they think it better represents their image and demonstrates a sense of responsibility of being a role model in Chinese society. But before 2010, that wasn’t the case at all,” she added.
Since founding her bespoke business Rose Studio in 1997, Guo has designed many wedding gowns for her clients. The brand takes around 1,000 bespoke orders annually, and a fifth of them are bridal.
“Wedding is arguably the most important moment in many people’s life. That’s why they want to wear something special for the occasion. At the time, the majority of them wanted Western styles, and maybe a few of them would ask for some Qipao for a second or third outfit during the ceremony,” she said.
After making many countless wedding dresses, it struck her one day in 2009 that there really wasn’t a universal standard on what is considered a Chinese wedding outfit.
“In Western fashion, you have bridal styles like Victorian or fishtail. At the time, Qipao was the only style that people associate with Chinese weddings. But I don’t think Qipao is grand enough for weddings. So I began to have this idea that I should create modern China’s own wedding outfit,” she added.
The same year, Guo had the opportunity to design the wedding outfits for a client who was born in Shanghai, raised in Beijing, and to be wed in Hong Kong. She was the only daughter, and the groom was the eldest son. So the wedding was a top priority for both sides of the family, and they planned to host three wedding ceremonies in the three cities.
“I spent over a year working on outfits for her and her entire family, including a Western-style wedding gown and a Qipao. One day, her grandmother-in-law from Hong Kong came to me. She brought me the very wedding outfit she wore when she got married five decades ago, folded in a small metal box.
“I was really amazed by how a set of silver embroidered outfits in Chaozhou style can fit into such a box the same size as a biscuit tin. I was really touched at the moment. I would like to think that I had made a career for myself back then in China, but it was the first time for me to see something so beautiful so closely.
“She wanted me to alter the piece for my client so that the bride-to-be can wear it at the ceremony in Hong Kong. She has asked all the tailors in town for that, but no one dared to touch it as it was too precious. I was excited about the challenge. I kept the piece for four months to study the embroidery technique, and spent a few more months to complete the alteration,” Guo recalled.
The moment when she returned the garment to the family, a voice from the bottom of her heart was telling Guo that “this is what bridalwear in modern China should look like,” even though nobody supported her at the time. Not even her husband.
“China was still a place where many believed that everything from the West is superior, and the idea of wearing traditional outfits for weddings is dated. People loved brands like Vera Wang. I was way ahead of the time,” she said.
“But I was determined. I spent three years making 30 pieces of wedding gowns to showcase what I think Chinese brides should wear. I wasn’t bound by rules. I used all the best techniques the world has to offer to make these dresses. Then I hosted an exhibition in 2012 to present them. Each garment was surrounded by flowers,” she added.
Shortly after, Guo got her first order, a set of reimagined Chinese wedding outfits embroidered with ultra-fine gold thread, for 2 million renminbi, or $314,300 at current exchange.
She justified the price point, saying the goal was to find materials that would result in the most beautiful dress for the client. Also, Guo sees the wedding outfit as much more than a product that she is selling.
“When I am presenting the garment to my clients, what I am imagining is what it will look like three generations from now. A woman watching his grandchild wearing the very dress she got married in walking down the aisle is what I call a fulfilling life. It was at that moment that the garment I designed showcased its biggest value,” Guo explained.
The pursuit of timeless beauty also applies to her work beyond bridalwear, and she reaffirmed her stance in welcoming all sorts of aesthetics and techniques in fashion design.
“If you study traditional Chinese embroidery, you probably won’t see any traits of them in my work. For a nation with so much history like China, inheriting what’s before us is just the first step. What’s more important is how you take it from there. In the beginning, I followed the rules. But decades later, I am free from them,” said Guo.
“I have long forgotten the boundary between what’s ours and what’s theirs. I don’t care what are the main styles of Chinese embroidery. I use whatever can help me reach my goal. Maybe 50 years from now, people will call it the Guo Pei style of embroidery,” she added.