Bespoke tailor a perfectly suited career

For Guo Pei, fashion designer to the stars, a well-made dress can fix anything - even a marriage.

The client list at Rose Studio, which she opened in Beijing in 1997, reads like a who's who of China's rich and famous. But few people will know she is also a successful "agony aunt".

When one customer told her that she felt her child and husband weren't close to her, Guo advised her not to wear serious suits and tie her hair up at home. And she made her dresses with soft fabric and mild colors. "She told me it worked perfectly."