Guo Pei's Fantastical Fashion

Nothing short of wow... Guo Pei's weight-bearing long coat with embroidery

After two days of sun it was back to rainy weather in Vancouver. But that's OK because we had planned to go downtown to the Vancouver Art Gallery to check out the current exhibition, Guo Pei: Couture Beyond that is on until January 20.

Layers of organza give volume to this whimsical dress

When it opened in mid-October, it coincided with the Vancouver premiere of the documentary Yellow is Forbidden, which follows Guo preparing for her haute couture show in Paris, and how she became a fashion designer.

She was born at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution and learned how to sew at a very young age from her mother, but Guo didn't know there was such a thing as fashion, with everyone wearing the same dull Mao suits.

"When I was little, I didn't know what fashion was. The word didn't exist," says Guo in Yellow is Forbidden. "My Granny told me many stories about embroidery, what people wore in the palace, and I would fantasize about that. When I was eight years old, I asked Granny for a yellow dress, and she got very angry at me. She said, 'Yellow is forbidden'."

Guo later studied at Beijing's Second Light Industry School, graduating in 1986 and worked for a Chinese clothing manufacturer before launching her brand Rose Studio with her husband in 1997.

The "omelette" dress made famous by Rihanna in 2015

The exhibition features pieces from 2006 to 2017 and yes it includes that 25kg yellow dress with fox fur trim Rihanna wore to the 2015 China-themed Met Gala that put Guo in the global spotlight.

Looking at the pieces you can see Guo's fantastical imagination and you can't help but be in awe of both the design and the execution particularly in terms of the embroidery and beading. It is absolutely amazing how much work was poured into each outfit.

She has teams of some 500 artisans working with her in Beijing, training and learning from her. Apparently in the documentary, couture organizers weren't sure who Guo was because many fashion designers are usually the ones barking directions.

A dress as ornate as a Faberge egg

It's interesting to see her interpretation of religious iconography like the cross and royal symbols, as she has no strong connection or association with them. She freely uses bejewelled crosses to embellish crowns or even a headdress that looks like a human-sized Faberge egg with the model's head peeping through. Inside it's far from plain -- there are layers and layers of beading that are incredible.

One section was on Guo's reinterpretation of wedding dresses. Traditionally in China they are red, while in the West they are white, and so why not a completely white beaded Chinese wedding dress complete with buttons with 喜喜 or double happiness characters.

Another had a western scalloped neck with traditional Chinese floral embroidery that was gorgeous, complemented with sleeves decorated with long strings of gold beads, like a flapper dress.

That yellow dress was magnificent and yes it did look like a fancy omelette, but we preferred the turquoise embroidered coat and dress, the coat with massive long sleeves and a fur trim that needed assistants to help carry it. Now that's an entrance.

Why not a white beaded wedding gown?

The embroidery for each piece was different, colourful and dynamic -- the designs were hardly staid or routine. Many were long dresses, but there were some with pants, others using a kind of ribbon-like fabric to sculpt the skirt, or creating new shapes altogether.

It wasn't just the outfits themselves that were jaw-dropping. Guo also accessorized each piece with dazzling headdresses such as crowns or chunky jewellery around the neck or fingers, and even platform shoes that echoed those worn by women in the Imperial Palace.

The exhibition also has a video of Guo's fashion shows and you wonder how these models managed to walk the catwalk without falling over! In the documentary trailer, at one point someone says the models have to be athletes to be able to wear her clothes because they are so weighed down by the embroidery and beading.

Some of the pieces at first glance look very western, but look closer and there are some fine Chinese flourishes. Many of them look very regal, elegant and sophisticated, others are interesting experiments in shapes, textures and colours.

Curvaceous shapes created from this sculptural fabric

Being able to examine these pieces up close is very rare for haute couture, so it's a fun opportunity to see these ones in particular. They immediately make you appreciate the tens of thousands of hours put into each piece with so many people working on each one in tandem, with Guo as the visionary and conductor.

We left the show feeling in awe and proud of what Guo has accomplished -- the first Chinese to be invited to become a guest member of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, and creating pieces she has always wanted to do.

Guo Pei: Beyond Couture
Until January 20, 2019
Vancouver Art Gallery

Review: Manolo: The Boy Who Made Shoes for Lizards

Manolo Blahnik is a man all women love for his gorgeous shoes

On the flight to Singapore, our in-flight entertainment on Cathay Pacific wasn't working and so it wasn't until more than half way through the flight that it was re-booted and we could finally watch something.

With only an hour and a half to go, I picked a quick documentary to watch -- one on the maestro of shoes, Manolo Blahnik.

The man is 75 years old now and still going strong. He was born in the Canary Islands in Spain to an Austrian-Hungarian father and Spanish mother who were well-to-do. His mother instilled a sense of style in the young boy, and he became very creative, ditching his parents' plans for him to become a diplomat and instead going to Paris and London.

During his childhood he did make shoes for lizards

His childhood memories of his home was wandering the gardens and used foil that wrapped chocolate bars and made them into shoes for lizards. Hence the title of the documentary.

Blahnik learned shoe making from his mother, who made her own shoes, and she learned through a cobbler in the Canary Islands. In the end Blahnik didn't have formal training in making shoes, but he is very involved in the entire process from beginning to end.

He also draws every shoe that he produces, and uses watercolours to paint them. He has a wonderful imagination, inspired by all kinds of things from flowers -- wisteria are his favourite -- to the sea, to colours. 

In 1970 he had an opportunity to meet Diana Vreeland, the arbiter of taste who was then the editor-in-chief of US Vogue. He was so nervous meeting her that he could barely say anything. After she looked at his drawings she declared: "Young man, make things, make accessories, make shoes."

She suggested he focus on shoes and he followed her advice.

He got his big break in 1972 to create shoes for a runway show. However, when he made the heels with rubber soles, he forgot to put steel in them to support the heel; it was really painful for the models to walk in them, that they seemed to create a new way of walking the runway. Luckily for Blahnik, the mistake turned into a blessing.

He starts off by sketching each shoe, painting by hand

Success swept up with him in the 1980s and of course the 1990s with Sex in the City -- he was overwhelmed that women were willing to drop US$500 for a pair thanks to a fictional character who was obsessed with his heels. 

And of course the film has numerous testimonials from US Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour to singer Rihanna and models Karlie Kloss and Naomi Campbell fawning over Blahnik's shoes. 

But what would have been more interesting would be to follow him from sketch to shoe, as he personally oversees every part of the shoe production. It is only towards the end of the film that the camera follows Blahnik in Italy when he visits a shoe factory. 

He puts on a white coat -- complete with a handkerchief in the pocket -- and he gets to work fashioning the heel out of wood. He is the one literally carving it and smoothing it out with the machine while a craftsman looks on. From there we watch how the shoe is fashioned, the satin sewn on, jewels set, or lace laid on top. 

His designs, colours and decorations are elegant and stylish

There is also a question about his personal life -- to which no friends can answer, and he himself would rather be busy creating more shoes. Trying to pry into someone's personal life is redundant here -- we just want to know more about how he translates ideas onto shoes.

Nevertheless it was interesting to hear about his early days, hanging out with model Bianca Jagger and actor Rupert Everett, how he was a model at one point, and how he let Wintour's toddler son create a mess in his shoe shop.

He also pays tribute to three muses -- Anna Piaggi, the eccentric editor of Vogue Italy, Isabella Blow, fashion muse, and model Tina Chow. All three women have died in the last few years, Blahnik must be missing them terribly.

In any event he continues to work, traveling to his different homes and taking in as much of nature as he can. He seems to work solitary, but is very social when he needs to be. His impeccable taste in clothes makes him practically the only man who can pull off a lilac suit.

He says he is very lucky to be able to find something he loves to do and is enjoying every moment. We're glad he is too.

Manolo: The Boy Who Made Shoes for Lizards (2017)

Directed by Michael Roberts

79 minutes