If all the world’s a stage, then it follows that one must dress for it.

As Shakespeare’s character Jaques explains in As You Like It, we play many roles in life and make many entrances and exits. The Peabody Essex Museum’s stunning exhibition Andrew Gn: Fashioning the World has me thinking about life’s theatricality and the way we dress ourselves for our most public and consequential performances.

Andrew Gn: Fashioning the World, celebrating the legacy of the House of Gn which closed its doors in 2023, makes its North American debut at PEM, now through February 16, 2026.

Andrew Gn, draped faille gown with train, 2013. Promised gift of Andrew Gn. Peabody Essex Museum. Photo courtesy House of Andrew Gn.

Andrew Gn: Fashioning the World opened to international acclaim in 2023 at the Asian Civilisation Museum in Singapore. PEM’s Chief Curator Petra Slinkard worked with the House of Gn and ACM for two years to bring a narratively rich, American curatorial approach to the global survey organized in Asia by the ACM’s Jackie Yoon. The PEM exhibition unfolds through a succession of four spectacular galleries, tracing the designer’s creative achievements and legacy with nearly 100 heritage pieces from The House of Gn, including clothing, accessories, illustrations, and digital media.

This is a dazzling tour through decades of sartorial innovation which reflects the trade histories of great ports such as Singapore and Salem, as well as the extensive collections of art, artifacts and textiles at both museums. The exhibition marks the PEM as one of the world’s museums capable of mounting historic costume exhibitions, along with the MET, the Victoria and Albert and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (MAD) in Paris.

In Gn’s world, every entrance and exit is a grand affair. Every event is an opportunity for extravagant beauty. Rarely do we get a glimpse inside the creative mind and working studio responsible for clothing chosen for state visits, royal weddings, red carpets and magazine covers. Here we see designs worn by Laura Dern, Lady Gaga, Queen Rania of Jordan and the Princess of Wales. Fashioning the World captures the designer’s signature glamour, opulence, color, art historical references and cross-cultural hybridity, as well as his contagious, luminous sense of joy.

Born in Singapore, Gn’s upbringing was innately international. His father, Gn Yong Kiat, a Teochew immigrant from China, and his mother, Ang Gek Siang, a Peranakan Japanese Singaporean, encouraged him to travel and to appreciate all things visually beautiful. He learned to collect early and study historical design references: fabrics, jewelry, porcelain, architecture, as well as books, nature and color inspirations.

Gn credits his grandmother and mother for inspiring his love of art and design. His grandmother was of Peranakan heritage, with Malay, Singaporean and Indonesian relatives. From her, he gained an appreciation for the traditional textiles, ceramics, jewelry and customs of those countries. Look for his version of Peranakan kerosang brooch buttons—a direct nod to grandmother’s cultural dress. His fashionable mother often brought him along on visits to her Chinese tailor. From her he gained an appreciation for superior construction, fit, surface decoration, and materials.

Gn’s fashion education began at Central Saint Martins in London, a school known for launching influential designers including Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, Phoebe Philo, Riccardo Tisci, and Sarah Burton. He continued his studies at Parsons School of Design in New York and Domus Academy, Milan. He worked under Emmanuel Ungaro in Paris and assisted at other couture and prêt-à-porter houses in Europe. This intense, first-hand exposure to haute couture techniques and European luxury standards gave him the craft foundation he needed to open his Paris atelier in 1995.

“London taught me how to dream, New York taught me how to turn fashion into a business, and Milan taught me about the industry.
”

— Andrew Gn

From Singapore to Salem

Like Singapore, a port city spanning several eras, Salem has a rich history as one of the world’s most important trade hubs. In the early 19th century, Salem was a major global marine center, trading with Asia, Africa and Australia. In fact, the Peabody Essex Museum’s roots date back to 1799 and the founding of the East India Marine Society, an organization of Salem ship captains who had traversed the globe, many rounding the southernmost tip of Africa. The PEM is the oldest continuously operating and collecting museum in the United States and is known for its extensive fashion and textile collection.

Andrew Gn calls the PEM one of his favorite museums, and he worked closely with Petra Slinkard to reimagine the Asia Civilisation Museum show for an American audience.

“Andrew Gn’s designs reflect the ongoing cross-cultural conversation that’s been taking place at PEM for more than 200 years.”

— Petra Slinkard

Andrew Gn: Fashioning the World celebrates the vision, work and legacy of the bold designer who was never afraid to mix global sartorial influences in novel ways. Mannequins dazzle in exquisite chinoiserie, batik, brocade, silk, sequins, beads, crystals, pearls, lace, feathers, leather. Colossal chandelier earrings dangle over shoulders, wide encrusted cuffs endow wrists with Wonder Woman clout and metallic crocodile boots add edginess to ultra-feminine silhouettes. Since the exhibition spans many years, different sections call to mind different parts of the world from Paris to Japan to China to the Middle East and always remains rooted in an aesthetic nod to nature.

Gn’s dedication to working with highly skilled artisans and making each element in-house put his pieces in the category of “demi couture,” that glittery realm between ready-to-wear and haute couture. That combined with his daring sense of color, impeccable fit, opulent finishes and couture-level craft made him a favorite among the world’s style influencers.

Andrew Gn, Coromandel print satin silk caftan with embroidered trim and ostrich feathers, 2021. Promised gift of Andrew Gn. Peabody Essex Museum. Photo courtesy House of Andrew Gn.

Gn’s signature embrace of multicultural influences make his work a nice fit for the PEM, given its mission to link past and present, and reveal global cultural connections. Slinkard notes, “Andrew Gn’s designs reflect the ongoing cross-cultural conversation that’s been taking place at PEM for more than 200 years. Echoing both Salem and Singapore’s histories as culturally rich port cities, Gn’s works display a convergence of Asian and Western influences, and feature reinterpretations of Asian cultures, including Chinese, Indian, Malay and Indonesian culture and his Peranakan heritage.”

Andrew Gn, synthetic coral print silk georgette caftan with embroidered collar and tusk earrings, 2022. Promised gift of Andrew Gn. Peabody Essex Museum. Photo courtesy House of Andrew Gn.

“Gn does more than design clothing; he promotes an aesthetic and an ideology that celebrates cross-cultural exchange, beauty and technical precision.”

— Petra Slinkard, PEM’s Chief Curator and The Nancy B. Putnam Curator of Fashion and Textiles

Slow Fashion, Accelerated Sustainability

Andrew Gn’s *Water Lilies* inspired, hand-beaded mini-dress.

The Jackie Kennedy-esque discipline of deliberate consumption—buying less but buying better—powers Andrew Gn’s design philosophy. Gn is a proponent of slow fashion, meticulously designing and crafting garments in small runs from the finest materials so that they stand the test of time.

His pieces are made to be passed down, like works of fine art. Take Gn’s beaded gown, inspired by Claude Monet’s Water Lilies paintings. It wouldn’t be a surprise to hear that it took the atelier years to finish. The comparisons that spring to mind are of artists like Igshaan Adams and Jeffrey Gibson, rather than traditional fashion designers. You can see the painstaking labor that went into its creation, and imagine its future including being gifted from one family member to another, or in this case, being displayed in a museum.

Slow fashion, which Gn champions as a key sustainability effort, remains conspicuously under-adopted across the fashion world. As one of the rare Paris fashion houses to remain independent, the House of Gn could afford to make fashion slowly, avoiding the frenetic cycle of seasonal collections and shows required by holding companies that finance major luxury brands. As evidenced by collection after collection, Gn also avoided falling prey to micro-trends fueled by social media and the fast-fashion industry. His hard-fought independence gave him the ability to make conscientious choices with the future of the planet in mind.

Touring the galleries, this philosophy can be seen in every elaborate garment. His advice to young designers is to stay true to themselves, to design according to who they are and find their own beauty. Remaining private was very hard, he admits, but allowed him to create what and how he wanted—slowly and with an emphasis on beauty, cultural inclusivity, and joy.

Andrew Gn, belted dress with brocade belt, and choker with synthetic pearls on black grosgrain, 2018. Promised gift of Andrew Gn. Peabody Essex Museum. Photo courtesy of House of Andrew Gn.

Protecting a Legacy

Gn’s fashion weaves stories that cross oceans, traditions and eras. His embrace of elegance, sensuality and frivolity and his appreciation for craft from Asia, Europe and the Middle East, make his pieces historic markers of time and talent. Always independent, The House of Gn produced more than 80 collections and 10,000 ensembles that reference his singular vision.

A testament to his commitment to the relationship with his American collaborator in Salem, the designer promised over 100 pieces to the Peabody Essex Museum, many pictured above. The work will become part of the PEM’s fashion and textiles collection which spans centuries and continents, including items from prominent 18th century New England families, historic military uniforms and pieces by major names like Alexander McQueen and Iris Apfel.

Andrew Gn knows that fashion is theater and design is inherently assimilated. Fashioning the World is a reminder that beauty transcends the messy landscape of current events and political discourse to ground us in the achievements and potential of human endeavor.

Cover image: Andrew Gn, belted dress in flower garland brocade, and earrings with glass beads fringes, pre Fall 2019. Promised gift of Andrew Gn. Peabody Essex Museum. Photo courtesy of House of Andrew Gn.