Guo Pei began sewing at a young age and quickly developed a passion for dressmaking. In 1997 she launched her atelier, Rose Studio, with eveningwear designs that attracted the attention of China’s celebrities, royalty and political elite. In 2008, Guo was selected to design the Chinese ceremonial dresses for the Beijing Olympics. Today she employs nearly 500 skilled artisans, including 300 embroiderers and 200 pattern-makers, designers and sewers.
Guo’s couture was launched on the international stage in May 2015 when pop star Rihanna wore her canary yellow fur-trimmed gown and cape to the Costume Institute’s annual gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. That same year, Guo was invited to show her collections in the official Paris Haute Couture Week calendar, and in July, held her first solo exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. The hallmark elaborate excess of Guo’s designs includes dense layers of embroidered colour, swells of beaded semi-precious stones and vast skirt volumes that marry European fabrics with Chinese design heritage.