Inside a New Exhibition of Guo Pei, the Chinese Couturier Whose Yellow Cape Rihanna Wore to the Met Gala

There’s perhaps no image of a Guo Pei garment more iconic than the one of Rihanna, swaddled in the Chinese couturier’s canary-yellow, silk-and-fox fur cape, ascending the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art during the Costume Institute gala for “China: Through the Looking Glass,” with its 16-foot train trailing behind her. Rihanna herself selected the look to be immortalized on a pair of socks as part of her latest collection with Stance, and now, the original garment itself is going up on display at Savannah College of Art and Design’s SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film, which is hosting an exhibition of more than 30 Guo Pei dresses, combined with shoes and accessories, titled “Guo Pei: Couture Beyond.” The show’s opening Thursday marks the first American solo museum exhibition of the 50-year-old designer’s work, which has also been sought out by Lady Gaga and Angelababy, aka “China’s Kim Kardashian.” “Every Guo Pei garment tells a spellbinding story, composed of sumptuous materials and symbolic motifs—swirling clouds, peonies in full bloom, and plumes of phoenix feathers,” said SCAD President and Founder, Paula Wallace. “Guo Pei: Couture Beyond summons us into the designer’s dream world to dwell for a time amidst her wondrous masterworks. This is one you’ll want to see again and again.” A new Rizzoli book, likewise the first to focus on her designs alone, will be published alongside the exhibition this December. Get an exclusive look at the garments on display at SCAD, as well as the sketches that preceded the gowns and which brought them to life, here.