When I first mentioned to our good friend Lea that we were coming to San Francisco she said we must get tickets for the Guo Pei exhibit at the Legion of Honor! Marla and I spent most of our working career in decorative textiles, so we love museum fashion exhibits. We really enjoyed past shows featuring Yves Saint-Laurent, Christian Dior, and John Paul Gautier. We knew the Guo Pei exhibition would be unlike anything we have ever seen.

San Francisco’s iconic Legion of Honor Museum is a jewel box set high on a hill in Lincoln Park.

Marla and Lea enter the museum on a beautiful spring morning.

I highly recommend watching this YouTube video on Guo Pei.

The dazzling show is spread out in special museum spaces as well as in the picture galleries.

“Fantasy is the height of your spirit. It is the important part of life because it fuels its meaning….If you have fantasy or an imaginative outlook, you will glow and inspire other people.” GuoPei

Her use of intricate embroidery is amazing!

A dress for…twins?

I was particularly interested in these creations. Guo Pei was inspired by Japanese obis.

Guo said, “I wanted to use textiles as antique as possible to give a sense of permanence.” She sourced rare obi fabrics from Japan that she magically transformed; hundreds of precious silk kimono belts were cut into squares and reassembled on their reverse side, exposing the yarn in an amazing, beautifully nuanced fringed texture. “It’s a mysterious design,” she said. “It can be read in so many different ways.”

A fantasy fabrication.

I was drawn to this creation.

The lover of exotic textiles in me was thrilled to see how the fabric was used in a de-constructed manner.

Marla was delighted as well!

A stunning marvel of design. Many of Guo Pei’s dresses fetch from $500,000 to over a $1,000,000!

Mind-boggling use of embroidery.

I thought Marla would look great in this dress, but she wasn’t sure of the sleeves.

The dress on the left was Marla’s very favorite!

Lea takes a closer look to admire the fabulous gold metallic fabric.

Guo Pei’s creations “exist between…fashion, theatre, sculpture, and performance.”

I loved the creation on the right!

Mesmerizing shimmer.

Her second favorite dress!

Back in my decorative textile days I would have purchased fabric just like this dress! Well, I probably couldn’t have afforded it!

A little theatre!

Phantasmagoric futurism.

I couldn’t take my eye off of this work.

Love the blue color!

Beautiful botanic embroidery.

Girls just want to have fun!

Wowza!

An apparition appeared.

This piece was incredibly intricate.

I can’t even imagine the weight of this dress with all the metallic embroidery!

The curators and designers of this exhibit did a fabulous job!

Beyond stunning! Many of these creations took years to complete!

Is Marla wondering what size is it? You know she would love to wear it for a few moments!

Double wowza!

Each piece had a unique magic.

Historical blue & white inspiration.

Prismatic cocktail dress.

One could even store a few snacks in this creation.

This gown was my very favorite!

Truly the piece de resistance! An amazing masterwork of sheer couture genius!

We left the museum visually fulfilled and happy for the opportunity to see Guo Pei’s achievements!

Hear Rihanna talk about wearing this incredible 48-pound Guo Pei gown at the 2015 Met Gala!

Photos: Dick Gentry (Except last two images) Not to be used without permission.