Givenchy, Chanel, Christian Dior, Jean Paul Gaultier: these designers all belong to an illustrious club that's highly exclusive, predominantly male and largely European—that of "haute couture," a designation that may not be used except by a few select firms meeting well-defined standards. For China's fashion darling Guo Pei, it's time to add her name to that list. Born into a world of uniforms and official arts, this industrial school student gained international fame with her extravagant, heavily embroidered creations, which weigh up to 50 kg and take up to 50,000 hours to complete. Her astonishing, otherworldly pieces are handmade by a team of 500 workers, trained in age-old traditions forgotten under decades of Communist rule. As this daughter of the Cultural Revolution prepares for Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week—ironically using Christian and royal iconography in her designs—we witness the ultimate celebration of an artist that simply defies categorization. Charlotte Selb
Co-presented with Toronto Fashion Week.