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Sunday, August 11, 2019

Guo Pei at The Asian Civilisations Museum


I laughed out loud when this appeared in my Facebook feed, advertising an online fashion boutique. Wow! They made Wilma Flintstone's dress in spandex, and some wild animal still managed to chew off a nice chunk out of the front hem. 


Now, this dress stands in stark contrast against the Wilma Flintstone spandex dress, does it not? This one is part of Guo Pei's very first haute couture exhibition in Beijing, entitled Legend of the Dragon. The Guo Pei exhibition at the Asian Civilisations fascinated me, not because I love clothes and fashion. I don't. If a t-shirt fits, I buy up the whole stock of my size in the shop so that I don't have to go shopping for t-shirts in the next 5 years. The Guo Pei exhibition fascinated me because it was a sort of summary of Chinese modern history.

Growing up, I associated all things Chinese with crudeness and low quality. My exposure to Chinese language movies came through TCS. Popular programs like Liang Popo irritated me with their crude humour. Even Little Nyonya had abysmal direction. I could not watch beyond the second episode. When China opened up, some lovely movies appeared like "Raise the Red Lantern" (大红灯笼高高挂) but most PRC productions looked meh. As a tourist in China, I came across mountains of cheap embroidered qipao. Gaudy. Yuck!

Then, this year, there was Yanxi Palace, with its opulent sets and embroidered costumes so exquisitely fine in workmanship that my breath caught in my throat, and my heart hurt in my chest. I later watched Deng Lun's Because of You, and drooled over the beautiful qipao the actresses were wearing. Ohhhh... I want a qipao like that! Actually, I cannot decide whether it was Deng Lun's handsome face that made my heart hurt in my chest or the qipao.

2019 is the year Petunia fell in love with Chinese culture and history. 2019 is the year where I contrasted stand up comedy (replete with references to private parts) streamed over Netflix with 大山 from China and fell in love with Chinese stand up comedy (intelligent and witty) instead. 2019 is the year I watched 白发王妃 and told myself that when I next renovate a home, I will channel the mood and designs of the elegant and spacious rooms from that drama series.

So, when I heard about Guo Pei's exihibition at the Asian Civilisations Museum, I dragged The Husband down to see it on National Day. 

Legend of the Dragon
Guo Pei's great grandparents were wealthy in Beijing. The Cultural Revolution persecuted such people. Art, beauty and refined living were destroyed along with the class systems. Guo Pei grew up hearing about art, beauty, colours, textures like they were fairy tales. In her childhood, every one dressed in shapeless black or dark blue Mao suits. Yellow was a forbidden colour because it was the colour that only the Emperor was allowed to wear.

So, Guo Pei went over the top in her first exhibition. It was heavy with opulent yellow. She designed clothes that possibly even the Empress would not wear. Every inch of fabric had gold beads and gold thread embroidery. It was too much for me. I did not find this collection tasteful. It was too jelak for me.

I loved this piece. Firstly, the lighting was so well done that no matter how you photograph the exhibit, the face of the mannequin disappears into the shadows and the costume appears to show a dragon in flight. 


1002 Nights Collection
In 2013, Guo Pei showcased her 1002 Nights collection. The Snow Queen dress (below), weighing all of 50 kgs, closed the show. It is a dress that projects power, magnificence, strength, dignity and majesty. Guo Pei matches the model to her designs. The model must herself reflect the design's vibes. The model for The Snow Queen was 87 year old Carmen dell'Orefice, because there are womanly qualities that youthful models simply cannot project.




The Blue and White Porcelain Dress
My favourite was the Blue and White Porcelain dress. It channelled the famous blue and white china  porcelain that China is so well known for. This dress sparkles! See the video below.




Wearables
After going over the top to express decades of repressed love for beauty and opulence, Guo Pei came back to earth to make wearables. Ohhhh! I want a Guo Pei creation! I wanna make enough money to buy myself a Guo Pei one day! **Fingers Crossed**



The Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution buried thousands of years of good taste, civility and discernment under thick layers of boorishness, vulgarity and crassness. It is good to see Chinese cultural refinement surface again. It is not just an issue of pride in one's culture. I truly derive joy from contemplating and touching beautiful things.

Don't get me wrong. Many of these beautiful things, I would never try to have in my house. I would have to dust them and maintain them. I wear the same t-shirt from Cotton On everyday and the last time I had to attend a dinner, I realised that I had no idea where my lipstick and eyeliner had gone to, and had to run and buy both at the last minute.

Yet, I enjoy touching and looking at beautiful things. I do. You know, a crow can have joy staring at a phoenix, without wanting to be a phoenix.

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