Simply Abu Dhabi XXVII

Guo Pei Chinese couturier Guo Pei’s autumn/winter 2017/18 collection is pure haute couture. On the runway cocktail dresses and gowns transport spectators to the glorious 1950s where icons such as Marilyn Monroe and Brigitte Bardot were taking Hollywood by storm. Vibrant colours including red, blue, green and silver were stars of the show that told a glamorous story of glamorous women. This year, Guo Pei collaborated with Caroline Scheufele, Chopard’s Co- President and Artistic Director. On the runway models wore Chopard haute joallerie pieces – all one of a kind jewels – that were created exclusively for this collaboration. It was magical to see Guo Pei's dresses perfectly matched with Chopard’s jewellery in a triumph of glamour and opulent luxury. Emerald drop earrings were combined with a silk ball gown; a pearl necklace took almost a year to make it perfectly woven lifted a blue cocktail dress with an embroidered dragon. The Chinese spirit of the collection was present, of course, it but it felt that Guo Pei was also trying to capture a wider audience. Her couture collection is a journey that combines Western and Eastern culture, Europe with China, Paris with Beijing, in a unique relationship that takes people into another world: Guo Pei's inimitable haute couture world. Guo Pei travels, in reverse to Marco Polo, from China to Europe and brings her tradition and roots into a whole new level of style and glamour which combines who she is with what she loves to be. It’s like the designer’s unconscious dream that effortlessly creates a whole new dimension with her cosmopolitan yet local creativity. 1 1 4 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I