Explore Guo Pei’s Iconic Clothing Designs at San Francisco’s Legion of Honor Museum

Chinese couturier Guo Pei began sewing at the age of 2. Three decades years later, in 1997, she launched her first label, Rose Studio, garnering attention for her exquisitely crafted daywear, gowns, and costumes, including ceremonial garments for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. In 2015, she became a viral sensation when, for the Met Gala, pop singer Rihanna wore Pei’s canary-colored creation with a 16-foot-long train. High-profile exhibitions and collaborations and landing on Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People list soon followed. Today, the Legion of Honor museum in San Francisco is presenting “Guo Pei: Couture Fantasy,” a survey of 82 ensembles the designer completed over the past two decades, highlighting her most important collections from the Beijing and Paris runways. Ac­companying sketches and a video, the breathtaking garments, some of which take two years to complete, showcase the range of Pei’s influences—from religion, fairy tales, and the natural world to architecture.