Telling a Story About Beauty: Guo Pei’s Book List—A Conversation with Zara Arshad

Guo Pei

Zara Arshad

Fashion designer Guo Pei: Rose Studio Fashion Co. Ltd. (Beijing)

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Design writer Zara Arshad: Design China (Beijing)

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Guo Pei—who has been called China’s answer to Alexander McQueen—talks to Design China’s Zara Arshad for Designers & Books—about the role of books in the fashion designer’s life and work. (The conversation appears in Chinese at the end of this post.)

Zara Arshad: What are some of your earliest memories of books?

Guo Pei: Ever since my childhood, I have loved reading books. Reading even just one book makes me feel as if I have been on a journey of a thousand miles. When I was growing up in China in the 1980s, however, books were really scarce. There were very few titles available on the market and books from abroad were unheard of. Low living standards also meant that published material was mostly unaffordable for the masses. Some publications were even priced as high as $100–200!

Book: Moda, Collezioni speciale Donna, Autumn/Winter 1995/'96

The first time I saw a book on fashion was actually a fashion magazine called “BOOK.” It cost about 500 RMB at the time—nearly my entire month’s salary—but I thought it was just beautiful and decided to invest. I have continued to buy books ever since then—a time period extending over nearly 30 years now. This June, for example, my husband and I returned to China with around 220 pounds of books from Europe! We have whole rooms dedicated to books in both our house and at my studio, and I often buy more than one copy of the same book in order to share my collection with others.

ZA: One of the books you've mentioned to me is not about fashion at all, but about Chartres Cathedral in France. Can you talk a bit about the impact of this book and of Chartres on you?

GP: It is not so much the contents of this book that are important to me, but the memories and experiences it evokes. The first time I visited or even saw a cathedral was in Milan in 1999. This was also my first time in Europe. I was especially impressed by the interiors—especially the stained glass windows. I remember looking up at one of the windows and just gazing at the light shining though. At that moment in time, it felt like there was an entirely different world outside. It was also the moment that I realized my goal in life. Spaces like these are created to generate dialogue with God, but they also tell a story about beauty. I believe in the existence of beauty, and everything starts if you believe. This moment was when I realized I could achieve my goals, and that it was just a matter of believing.

Guidebook to Chartres Cathedral, from Guo Pei’s library

ZA: How do you see books in relation to your work as a designer?

GP: Books have played a vital role in shaping my career as a fashion designer. When I was studying, I did not learn much from my teachers: there was no support for design education back then. I can say with confidence that most things I have learned have come from books.

I believe that design can never be too far away from the past; designers should learn about the past to inform their own designs and become a part of history themselves. From this standpoint, you can see the influence on my work today of what I've learned through the book The Complete Costume History. 

From Guo Pei’s “1002nd Arabian Night” haute couture collection and show, 2010

The book Fashion: The Collection of the Kyoto Costume Institute pushed me to want to build China’s first fashion museum. I have two dreams in life: to build a fashion museum, and to create a fashion library to inspire future generations. I think that books are vital to the development of Chinese design and design education: much like planting a tree in order to let it blossom and grow, rather than placing a flower in a vase that will eventually wilt and die.

From Guo Pei’s “1002nd Arabian Night” haute couture collection and show, 2010

From Guo Pei’s “Legend of the Dragon” haute couture collection and show, 2012

ZA: Is there a book that has resonated with you recently?

Yves Saint Laurent, limited edition in 2 volumes, 2010 (Editions de la Martinière)

GP: I recently bought a limited-edition boxed set of books on Yves Saint Laurent's collected works from 1962 to 2002 from a museum in Paris. This is 50 years of history—from when Yves Saint Laurent studied as a young designer until he passed away in 2008. Each book features sketches and drawings done by hand, and the contents are deeply moving. The entire set weighs 88 pounds in total, but it was definitely worth bringing back to China!

All images courtesy of Rose Studio Fashion Co. Ltd.

View Guo Pei’s Profile     View Guo Pei's Book List

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See also Designers & Books Fair 2012 program, Oct. 27: Chinese Design Culture Now

关于美的故事：郭培的书列－与阿飒的对话

郭培－她被称为中国的Alexander McQueen－与Design China（设计中国）的阿飒因为Designers & Books（设计师与书）相聚，聊到了书在这位时装设计师的生活和工作中的角色

阿飒：你最早对书的记忆是怎样的？

郭培：我从小就爱读书，读一本书，胜过行千里路。我念书的那会儿是80年代，那时候书在中国是稀缺商品，不仅数量非常有限，外文书更是听都没听说过。那个年代收入很低，大多数出版物对普通大众来说，都是遥不可及的。有些书的标价甚至高达100到200美元！

我第一次看到关于时装的书是一本杂志，叫做“妇女时装杂志”，那时候它要卖500人民币－大约是我一整个月的收入－但我觉得它真的很美，就下决心买下。那之后我再也没有停下买书－到现在已经有30年了。比如，最近我和丈夫从欧洲归来，随行带回了220磅重的书！我们家有一间书房，我的工作室也有一间，我还经常同一本书多买几册，好与他人分享。

飒：你提到的一本书是关于法国沙特尔大教堂的，我觉得它和时尚并没有直接关系。你能谈谈这本书以及沙特尔大教堂对你的影响吗？

郭：比起书的内容，它给我带来的回忆和经历更为重要。我第一次拜访教堂是1999年，在米兰。这也是我第一次去欧洲。我对教堂的内部装饰－尤其是彩色玻璃印象深刻。那时，教堂外面变成了另一个世界。那也是我第一次意识到我的人生目标。创造这种空间，是为了和神交流，但同时她也在述说关于美的故事。我相信美的存在，只要你有信仰，一切就开始了。这一刻我发现只要心存信仰，我就一定能实现我的目标。

飒：你觉得书与你的设计作品有什么关联？

郭：书对我的时装设计工作有不可或缺的影响。我还是一个学生的时候，从老师那里学到的不多，因为那时的设计教育非常落后，缺乏支持。我可以自信地说，我的大部分知识都是从书中得来的。
我相信设计离开历史，是走不长久的。设计师应该从经典中汲取精髓，完善自身的同时，也让自己成为设计史的一部分。你可以在我的设计中看到《戏服的历史（The Complete Costume History）》这本书对我的影响。

另一本书，《时装：京都服装研究所典藏（Fashion: The Collection of the Kyoto Costume Institute）》则让我产生了建中国第一所时装博物馆的想法。我有两个梦想，一是建立中国第一座时装博物馆，另一个就是建一座服装图书馆，让一代代年轻人从中受益。我认为书籍对中国设计和设计教育是至关重要的：与其把花插在花瓶里，等待凋零的一天，不如种一棵树，待它生长、开花。

飒：最近有什么书，引起你的共鸣吗？

郭：我最近在巴黎的一家博物馆买了一套限量版《圣罗兰设计稿完整珍藏版（Yves Saint Laurent's collected works from 1962 to 2002）》。这是一部50年的历史－从圣罗兰刚踏上设计道路的学生时代一直到他2008年去世。每本书都包括了他的素描和手绘稿，内容非常感人。整套书重达88磅，但绝对值得带回中国。

Chinese translation by Lynn Zhang.