Subversive, unconventional, and wildly creative. The history of the Comme des Garçons brand, told through 10 interesting facts from creative director and founder Rei Kawakubo.

Rei Kawakubo founded her fashion label Comme des Garçons in Tokyo in 1969. There are no half measures in her creative practice; hers is a strong aesthetic, characterized by clothing free from gender labels, whether male or female. Each of her creations can be considered a work of art. You either love it or hate it. For her collections, she favors atypical fabrics, produces uniforms that distort the body&#39;s shape, designs complex and imposing silhouettes, and revolutionizes garment construction by adopting systems of deconstruction and construction. The Comme des Garçons brand was presented for the first time during Paris Fashion Week in 1981 with the &quot;Hiroshima Chic&quot; collection. Rei Kawakubo&#39;s collections immediately confounded the press, who labeled them anti-fashion to express their stark contrast to the trends of the golden age of the 1980s. Scroll down to discover the history of Comme des Garçons through 10 curiosities about Rei Kawakubo .

THE NAME COMME DES GARÇONS Literally translated as &quot;like boys,&quot; it refers to Rei Kawakubo&#39;s clothes, designed to combine mobility and comfort with her anti-fashion style. For this reason, she never designed stiletto heels or had her models wear them during her fashion shows. Her clothes were designed for an independent woman who didn&#39;t dress to seduce or gain a man&#39;s approval. However, many argue that Rei Kawakubo chose this name simply because of her French pronunciation fluency.

THE LOVE STORY OF REI KAWAKUBO AND YOHJI YAMAMOTO In the late 1970s, Rei Kawakubo began a professional relationship and romantic love affair with Japanese designer <a href="https://www.lofficielitalia.com/news/supreme-x-yohji-yamamoto-collezione-collaborazione" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yohji Yamamoto</a> . Both debuted separate collections in Paris in 1981 and immediately shocked the press and critics. Their garments were dark, oversized, and asymmetrical, dissonant with the lines of the human body. Kawakubo and Yamamoto continued to collaborate for several years and, along with <a href="https://www.lofficielitalia.com/moda/issey-miyake-storia-del-brand-designer-giapponese" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Issey Miyake</a> , were considered Japan&#39;s most innovative designers.

ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS Among the most famous collaborations for advertising campaigns conceived by Rei Kawakubo are the contemporary artist and performer Cindy Shermann and the artwork with graphic images by Colier Schorr.

THE BODY MEETS DRESS, DRESS MEETS BODY SHOW For the Comme des Garçons Spring/Summer 1997 collection, Rei Kawakubo presented a series of dresses and garments that depicted body deformations and protuberances. Gingham sheath dresses that revisited the architecture of the dress were padded to explore the space between the body and the dress. A real punch in the face for the fashion system that demonstrated the Japanese designer&#39;s passion for experimentation.

&quot;It&#39;s our job to challenge conventions. If we don&#39;t take the risk, who will?&quot; Rei Kawakubo

COLLABORATION WITH MERCE CUNNINGHAM FOR &quot;SCENARIO&quot; For the Spring Summer 1997 collection, Rei Kawakubo collaborated with Merce Cunningham to present the performance &quot; Scenario .&quot; The American artist and choreographer, and life partner of John Cage, made dance a true artistic practice. The Cunningham method envisioned dance as an organ in itself, independent of music, and for him, movements must be enriched with <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0px;">lines, trajectories, rapid repetitions, and compositions.<blockquote> &quot;My idea has always been to explore the movement of the human body. I have tried to teach students and dancers my technique, but in a way that leaves room for individuality.&quot; Merce Cunningham</blockquote>

SIX THE COMME DES GARÇONS MAGAZINE Comme des Garçons also launched a magazine in 1988, called Six , which alluded to the exploration of the sixth sense. The publication was conceived by Rei Kawakubo, and its editors included Atsuko Kozasu and art director Tsuguya Inoue. The pages of Six showcase the Japanese brand&#39;s vision through works by international artists and photographers. The magazine also features names such as great photography masters as Peter Lindbergh, Bruce Weber, Dino Buzzati, and Salvador Dalí . However, the magazine closed in 1991, and over time, its editorial product became a cult collector&#39;s item.

THE PERFUMES OF COMME DES GARÇONS The first perfume was introduced in 1994, and since then every fragrance has become a subject of experimentation. They play with essences of tar, rubber, gunpowder, ink, and nail polish. Among the most experimental creations are the Series 6 Synthetic: Garage <a href="https://www.lofficielitalia.com/beauty/comme-des-garcons-ha-aperto-a-parigi-dover-street-parfums-market" target="_blank" rel="noopener">perfume</a> , rich in aldehydes and discordant notes that transport you to the mechanic&#39;s workshop, and the &quot;Andy Warhol&#39;s You&#39;re In&quot; perfume, inspired by the original citrus scent used by Andy Warhol for his 1967 work.

HAIRSTYLING At the Comme des Garçons shows, hairstyling is treated as an extension of the clothes. A loyal collaborator of Rei Kawakubo, Julien D&#39;Ys designs and creates sculptural hairstyles made with twisted wigs, often held up by metal wires and recycled constructions or materials.

DOVER STREET MARKET Rei Kawakubo is also known for founding <a href="https://www.lofficielitalia.com/moda/dover-street-market-ginza-5th-anniversary" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dover Street Market</a> alongside her husband, British designer Adrian Joffe . It can be described as a CdG department store or a concept store, more akin to a creative hub. Originally established in 2004 on Dover Street in London, DSM now also has locations in Tokyo, Beijing, Singapore, New York, Los Angeles, and most recently Paris. A multi-brand store featuring emerging brands and talents selected by the founder with a strong aesthetic vision for visual marketing and display.

THE COLORS OF COMME DES GARÇONS Rei Kawakubo&#39;s first collections were all black, then the pure color became the essential base for all her palettes. However, throughout her creative journey and the brand&#39;s history, she also experimented with reds, as in the &quot;Roses and Blood&quot; Spring Summer 2015 show and the monochrome whites for the &quot;White Drama&quot; Spring Summer 2012 collection and the &quot;The Ceremony of Separation&quot; Fall Winter 2015 collection, shot by photographer Paolo Roversi.

REI KAWAKUBO/COMME DES GARÇONS: ART OF THE IN-BETWEEN AT THE MET In 2017, the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art examines the work and career of Rei Kawakubo through the collections of Comme des Garçons. The exhibition Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between is a retrospective of 140 clothing designs from the early 1980s to 2017. The rooms at The Metropolitan Museum of Art are organized into nine aesthetic expressions of the interstitiality in Kawakubo&#39;s work: Absence/Presence, Design/Not Design, Fashion/Anti-Fashion, Model/Multiple, Then/Now, High/Low, Self/Other, Object/Subject, and Clothes/Not Clothes. Kawakubo breaks down the imaginary walls between these dualisms, exposing their artificiality and arbitrariness.

THE TIMELINE OF COMME DES GARÇONS 1969: Rei Kawakubo founds Comme des Garçons 1973: Comme des Garçons opens the first boutique in Tokyo 1981: Debuts with the &quot;Hiroshima Chic&quot; collection during Paris Fashion Week 1982: &quot;Destroy&quot; Collection: black and white colors coexist in an ambivalent dialogue 1983: CdG opens the first boutique in New York 1988: Rei Kawakubo introduces Six magazine (which will close permanently in 1991) 1991: Comme des Gaçons presents the gothic collection &quot;Lilith&quot; 1994: Rei Kawakubo launches her first perfume 1995: Comme des Gaçons presents the &quot;Broken Bride&quot; collection 1997: Rei Kawakubo debuts with the &quot;Body meets dress, dress meets body&quot; collection. 2004: Rei Kawakubo and Adrian Joffe open Dover Street Market in London 2011: Presents the &quot;White Drama&quot; fashion show, the first entirely white collection 2014: &quot;Roses and Blood&quot; the all-red collection by CdG 2015: Rei Kawakubo presents the &quot;The Ceremony of Separation&quot; fashion show with photographs by Paolo Roversi 2016: Comme des Garçons Homme Plus shows the collection &quot;The King is Naked&quot; 2017: The &quot;Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between&quot; retrospective at the MET

10 Fun Facts About Rei Kawakubo That Reveal the Comme des Garçons Brand

Recommended posts for you

Celebrities

MINA/TWICE wear new Boucheron high jewelry.

Celebrities

10 Facts to Know About K-Pop Star Jackson Wang

Food & Lifestyle