Guo Pei (b. 1967, Beijing) is a visionary haute couture artist who has changed the perception and imagination of Chinese high fashion. One of the country’s first generation of fashion designers in the reform and opening era, she founded China’s first couture atelier Rose Studio in 1997 and presented at Paris Haute Couture Week from 2016 to 2020. Her work has been featured in institutional exhibitions, including the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco (2022) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York(2015). Apart from her bespoke work with high-profile clients, Guo has also reimagined traditional Asian aesthetics for outfits for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and collaborated with Mattel to create the 2023 Lunar New Year Barbie.

Ikko Yokoyama is Lead Curator of Design and Architecture at M+. Before joining M+, she served as Head of Exhibitions at Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm. In parallel, Yokoyama is an independent curator and writer and has worked on international exhibitions and projects across Europe, South Africa, and Japan. She is an executive committee member of the ICAM International Confederation of Architectural Museums; advisory panel of CHAT Centre for Heritage Arts & Textiles in Hong Kong; committee member of the Design-DESIGN MUSEUM, Japan; expert committee member of the National Center for Art Research, Japan; and member of the expert advisor group of the Council for Cultural Affairs in the Agency of Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan.

Desiree Au is the founding publisher of Vogue Hong Kong. A media veteran, she has held senior editorial positions at South China Morning Post and Hong Kong Standard, founded Time Out Hong Kong, and contributed articles to the international edition of the New York Times. She is an honorary trustee of the Women’s Foundation, a founding patron of M+, a board director of the Society of Publishers in Asia, and a trustee of Design Trust.