Guo Yirantian started dancing when he was four years old. This spring, she revisited her early passion for the art form. “I call it ‘Clap!'” she laughs, explaining that her muse is Spanish Roma flamenco dancer Carmen Amaya, who, according to her research, was the first person to wear Dancing women in men’s clothing. “I found this to be an interesting point to start collecting,” Guo said. “It’s similar to how I create female figures.”
Unlike many of her peers on the Shanghai Fashion Week calendar, Ms. Guo focuses on designing clothes for a more mature clientele, rather than pursuing the eternally “young” it-girl. This makes her pursuit of elegance and sexiness less dependent on trends and coolness, and more based on confidence and maturity. It’s this that makes Amaya a valuable starting point. This performer is often considered the best flamenco dancer in history and is credited with opening a new chapter in flamenco history in the early to mid-20th century, bringing flamenco from Spain to Brought to Latin America and the United States, and eventually Hollywood.
Guo designed pants modeled after her, with elastic ruffles at the side seams or hems. She placed the same ruffles on plain blouses and sheer high-low hem skirts, caressing the floor and then taking flight as her models gained momentum. Particularly flattering are the larger ruffles at the neckline and hips of shorter dresses, and the double ruffles at the flattering bubble hem on pencil skirts. The pale pink shorts suit was an exception, but it was Kuo’s most faithful and modern take on Amaya in this collection.
Where the show really found its rhythm were a few loose, draped halter-neck shirts, sumptuous knitted vests, and flowing trousers and skirts cut in expressive lightweight silks: they best conveyed the elusive yet elusive nature of dance. The familiar flow and the way the music moves one’s body. “The fluctuations of the body are a language,” Guo said.
