M.A.C taps Chinese haute couture designer Guo Pei for its latest collab

Date April 30, 2015

With this year’s China-themed Met Gala excitement growing (and further proving 2015 is the year of Asian domination), M.A.C has named Guo Pei as its latest beauty collaborator, joining a long list of greats like Giambattista Valli, Proenza Schouler, Prabal Gurung to name a few.

Who is Guo Pei? For starters, she may as well be known as the Alexander McQueen of the East. Recognized for her traditional-meets-fantastical designs, Guo Pei is a renowned Chinese haute couture designer whose creations are in essence wearable works of art. As the first and only Chinese-approved couture designer, she is much adored by her country (Guo Pei was commissioned to design and create the ceremonial dresses for the 2008 Beijing Olympics), including China’s A-list stars—think Zhang Ziyi, Li Bingbing and Fan Bingbing.

But back to the collection, which features Guo Pei’s penchant for eclectic colours, prints and vivid florals. In a press release, the designer explains she was initially inspired by a famous Chinese saying, “There is a kingdom in a flower; a wisdom in a leaf.” “I always find the power of the nature fascinating, especially when the flowers are blossoming.”

The 16-piece collection will include lip gloss, eye shadow and blush in neutral hues and pops of blue, a colour often associated with spring and vitality in Chinese culture. And that’s not all. The couture designer has taken it one step further by accompanying the products with eight couture dresses (or rather, she had designed the dresses as a springboard to develop the makeup collection).

The M.A.C and Guo Pei collection will be available as of October in stores and online at maccosmetics.ca. In the meantime, take a peek at some of her most amazing pieces, as well as a sketch of one of the eight dresses for the beauty collab.