Guo Pei is China’s premier couturier and one of the world’s most innovative fashion designers. She is recognized for her consummate craftsmanship, lavish embroidery, and imaginative dressmaking techniques as well as for her elaborate and theatrical runway presentations. Drawing inspiration from European and Asian artistic traditions, Guo Pei’s creations blur the boundaries between art and fashion, and for more than twenty-five years her complex and visually dazzling dresses and ensembles have astonished runway audiences from Beijing to Paris.

Published on the occasion of the 2022 exhibition Guo Pei: Couture Fantasy at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco, this catalogue presents an in-depth look at the creative world of the designer. Featuring more than two hundred fifty color illustrations highlighting eighty-two of the artist’s most sumptuous creations, this stunning volume also includes a gallery of backstage photographs and a collection of sketches that provide a rare glimpse into her design process. Essays by leading fashion scholars, an interview with the designer, and a detailed chronology further explore the trajectory of Guo Pei’s extraordinary career and provide a deeper understanding of her influences and her singular aesthetic philosophy, which has been shaped by her cultural heritage as well as China’s modern history.