It was an apricity in the midst of wintery Paris.
Guo Pei presented her collection entitled 'Legend' located at La Conciergerie, where Marie Antoinette had been imprisoned before she was beheaded in 1793. She opened this show with a fluorescent dress called 'The Revenant' that lights up in the darkness depicting the Queen's spirit.
This dress was very difficult to photograph, but what followed after the lights back on, was a show of blinding creativity.
The collection this time is a result of a collaboration with the Swiss textile developer, Jakob Schlaepfer, which produces metal-shiny fabrics that shine depicting the sun. Long, luxuriously decorated gowns with gold and silver colors, and glorious stone accessories dotted with typical medieval crowns and crystal ball and pendant swings graced the catwalk, and extremely small metal ornaments demonstrate diverse materials, classic silhouettes, and royal colors that subtly carry legendary messages.
Guo Pei gained inspiration for this collection after her meeting with leading textile developer Jakob Schlaepfer in St. Gallen, Switzerland. Together with Martin Leuthold, the art director, for two years they developed a metal-like material used by Guo Pei in various ways. The local city church was also an inspiration, with the appearance of the pictures emblazoned inside the cathedral as a motif in one of her looks.
Portraits of bishops, priests, and relics that fill the Roccoco-styled cathedral are reflected through prints lined with 3-dimensional sequins, gold-colored makeup, and regalia accessories such as thuribulum, incense, and crown.
"Loyalty, to me, is the greatest strength in exploring and creating something, like the sun, which is constantly burning, and this is my passion in creating couture, continuous, faithful, and someday becoming a legend on its own,” she explained after the show.
The show was then appropriately closed by a legend in the modeling world, Carmen Dell'Orefice, who is now 85 years old. Wearing a blood-red silk dress and accompanied by two male models, she portrayed a remarkable picture of beauty (Carmen, who appeared on the front page of Vogue 70 years ago, also modelled for Guo Pei in 2010 for her collection entitled '1002 Nights’)
“She has the soul of a queen, a knight, and she is the model's queen," Guo Pei explained when asked why she chose Carmen.
At the end of the interview, Guo Pei said she dedicates her latest couture collection, to Paris. "I hope this show can continue the couture spirit that will be remembered all the time," she said.
Review in Bahasa Indonesia: https://www.cnnindonesia.com/gaya-hidup/20170222060415-277-195198/persembahan-matahari-guo-pei-untuk-paris