Fashion History: Rei Kawakubo and Comme des Garcons

Comme des Garçons is a unique phenomenon in the fashion world. This French brand was founded by a Japanese designer who, in rare interviews, emphasizes that her origin and gender do not define her creative vision. Comme des Garçons produces clothing that often transcends everyday wear, as well as simple T-shirts with a characteristic naive red heart. This contrast between avant-garde and simplicity makes the brand recognizable and draws attention to experimental approaches in the fashion industry.

The Comme des Garçons brand (CDG) has become a symbol of innovation in the world of fashion, and its founder, Rei Kawakubo, played a key role in shaping its unique identity. Rei Kawakubo, a Japanese designer, founded CDG in 1969 in Tokyo. Her work is distinguished by experimental designs that challenge traditional notions of fashion. Kawakubo is known for her use of unconventional shapes, textures, and silhouettes, creating clothing that is both art and functional.

Since its founding, CDG has captured the attention of both critics and fashion enthusiasts for its ability to break norms and explore the boundaries of aesthetics. Kawakubo has become a pioneer in the creation of conceptual fashion, which has helped the brand gain international fame and recognition. Her collections have become style icons, inspiring numerous designers around the world.

Among Rei Kawakubo's most significant achievements is the presentation of the "Lumps and Bumps" collection in 1982 at Paris Fashion Week. This collection, with its asymmetrical shapes and unusual textures, caused a sensation and radically changed the perception of womenswear. CDG continues to be an influential player in the fashion industry, bringing fresh ideas and bold concepts that make viewers rethink their views on style and identity.

Thus, the story of the Comme des Garçons brand and its founder, Rei Kawakubo, is a story of courage, innovation, and revolutionary change in the fashion industry. CDG continues to inspire a new generation of designers and fashionistas, remaining at the forefront of fashion trends.

Rei Kawakubo is not a feminist

Rei Kawakubo was born in 1942 in Tokyo. Her father was an employee of Keio University, one of the most prestigious educational institutions in Japan, which was the first to introduce Western educational formats. In 1960, Rei entered this university, where she studied aesthetics and literature of the East and West in depth. Kawakubo became an iconic figure in the fashion world, known for her innovative approaches and unique style, which significantly influenced the development of Japanese and global fashion. Her work is characterized by experimental design and a philosophical approach to clothing, which made her one of the most influential designers of her time. After graduating, she took a job in the advertising department of a company producing acrylic fabrics. Her responsibilities included styling photo shoots, selecting accessories and outfits for advertising materials. In cases where suitable models were unavailable, she created them herself, relying on her intuitive skills. Rei did not receive formal training in fashion design, cutting, or sewing, but this did not prevent her from successfully expressing her creative approach in her work. In 1967, Rei Kawakubo began her career as a freelance stylist, and in 1969 she founded the Comme des Garçons brand. This move marked a significant moment in the fashion industry, as the brand quickly gained recognition for its innovative design approach and unconventional concepts.

The name Comme des Garçons translates as "like boys." A popular theory holds that the name was inspired by the 1962 song "Tous les garçons et les filles" (All the boys and girls). The abbreviation CDG may also be associated with Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. However, Kawakubo, the brand's founder, never explained the choice of this name. Interestingly, the brand has become a symbol of Japanese fashion and is distinguished by its avant-garde style, attracting fans worldwide.

In the early 1970s, this brand produced women's clothing characterized by comfort, a non-feminine style, and visual elements inspired by traditional Japanese attire. This collection attracted attention with its unique design, combining modern trends with Japanese cultural traditions. This approach to clothing creation contributed to the popularization of alternative style among women who valued comfort and originality in their appearance. Ten years later, Kawakubo decided to completely distance herself from Japanese folklore and cease making references to her culture. In 1979, she developed the concept of creating "clothing-zero": collections that ignore traditional standards and trends in the fashion industry and do not follow the norms of Western design that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, when new silhouettes for active and emancipated women emerged. This idea will form the basis for her unique approach to fashion, which will challenge conventional ideas about the beauty and functionality of clothing.

Kawakubo's personal image remains unchanged even outside of fashion: in public, she always sports a simple, unkempt bob, a black turtleneck, and black trousers. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The new Comme des Garçons brand became a symbol not only of exclusion from the framework of fashion, but also of a rejection of traditional gender stereotypes. The concept of "clothing from scratch" implied the introduction of unique design and technical solutions, as well as the establishment of a new goal: creating clothes and accessories that can seduce, attract attention, and sexualize bodies, as well as serve as a symbol of approved behavior. Since its launch in 1979, Comme des Garçons clothing has embodied visual non-sexuality, complexity, and boredom, emphasizing the superiority of abstract ideas over practicality. The brand experiments with cuts and shapes, ignoring traditional ideas about how parts of the body should be emphasized, concealed, or revealed, thereby creating a unique style that challenges the foundations of fashion.

In an interview with The New York Times in 2009, Kawakubo noted: "I don't consider my work to be connected with the concept of 'being a woman.' I am not a feminist and this movement does not interest me. I simply decided to create a company based on creativity, and that creativity became my tool in the direction I choose."

Items from the Blue Witches collection, Spring/Summer 2016 Image: Kerry Taylor Auctions

Items from the “Invisible Clothes” collection, spring-summer 2017Photo: Colonel Glenn / Sarah Stierch / Flickr

Kawakubo abandoned Japanese traditions in clothing design, but not visual images from Eastern cultures. For example, the pattern on this shirt is made up of photographs of Buddhist monks with comic-book, exaggerated smiles. Image: TheRealReal

Wabi-sabi in Paris

In 1981, Rei Kawakubo and her partner Yohji Yamamoto presented their collections at Paris Fashion Week, which became a landmark event in the fashion world. Their autumn/winter collections caused a real shock: the clothes were mainly made in black tones, the fabrics were strangely folded and fluttered as they moved, and the asymmetrical silhouettes did not correspond to the then standards of glamour and the image of a "strong woman" with an emphasis on demonstrative sexuality. This revolutionary aesthetic radically changed the perception of fashion, opening new horizons for designers and creating a foundation for subsequent generations of couturiers.

The 1981 Comme des Garçons collection, known as "Lace," actually didn't contain the material. Models walked the runway in sweaters and dresses made of felted wool, crafted with numerous holes. Rei Kawakubo demonstrated her unique approach to design, grounded in conceptual thinking and departing from traditional practices. If lace denotes a fabric with numerous holes, then why should it be made exclusively of cotton and follow a strict pattern sequence? This question underscores the innovativeness and unusualness of Kawakubo's vision, making the collection relevant and important in the fashion world.

Fashion critics would later suggest that the anti-aesthetics, imbalance, and asymmetry in the Comme des Garçons collections reflect the traditional Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi. This concept emphasizes the beauty of imperfection and transformation, which is embodied in Rei Kawakubo's unique designs. As a result, Comme des Garçons's works become more than just clothes, but true works of art that challenge conventional notions of fashion and aesthetics.

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Body, Space, Void

The late 1980s and 1990s saw a significant shift in fashion, which became symbolic of body culture. This period was marked by the emergence of supermodels—women with traditional beauty standards and ideal proportions. This time also saw the emergence of the phenomenon known as "heroin chic," in which thinness and vulnerability became associated with attractiveness in pop culture. This approach to femininity influenced perceptions of fashion and beauty standards, which remains relevant in modern society.

During this time, Comme des Garçons' designs increasingly departed from the fashion industry's norms. In 1997, the brand presented a spring/summer collection called Dress Meets Body, Body Meets Dress. This collection gained fame for its unusual shapes and textures, which earned nicknames like "Humps and Bumps" and "Quasimodo's Wardrobe." Such design experiments became iconic for the brand and highlighted its unique approach to fashion, which continues to inspire designers and attract fans to this day.

Rei Kawakubo's experimentation with shapes and rejection of traditional notions of beauty reached a new level. The use of bustles, voluminous linings, and unexpected cut lines resulted in the "disfigurement" of dress silhouettes and altered the perception of the body shapes of those who wore them. The unusual placement of voluminous details created strange and memorable images, devoid of conventional rhythm and logic. At the same time, the fabrics used to create these dresses had feminine and sweet patterns, which contrasted with the avant-garde aesthetic.

Comme des Garçons Dress Meets Body, Body Meets Dress shoot for Kawakubo's own magazine, Six. Photo: Archive.pdf

Ensembles from the collection Dress Meets Body, Body Meets DressPhoto: The Museum of Modern Art / National Museum of Scotland

Theatrical performance. Actors in costumes by Rei Kawakubo Photo: Walker Art Center

Rei Kawakubo demonstrated that the human body in clothes does not have to conform to the traditional shapes and standard volumes established by fashion. She destroyed stereotypes about how clothes should fit the figure, opening up new horizons for self-expression. Kawakubo demonstrated the power of breaking norms by leaving voids and creating unique silhouettes, marking a significant step in the development of the fashion industry.

Comme des Garçons opened new horizons in the perception of bodies and clothing, allowing them to become abstract. This philosophy manifests itself in unique silhouettes and unexpected forms that transform traditional notions of fashion. Comme des Garçons doesn't just create clothes; it invites viewers to rethink how we perceive the body and style, breaking down the boundaries between art and fashion.

Comme des Garçons' runway anti-fashion doesn't assume that things have to be comfortable, understandable, and wearable. But such design techniques are also used in the brand's commercial collections. Image: The Real Real

The Spring-Summer 2014 collection was called "Without Making Clothes." Photo: Giovanni Giannoni / WWD / Getty Images

Rihanna at the Costume Museum Ball in 2017 and a model on the catwalk in dresses from the Comme des Garçons "18th Century Punk" collection. Photo: Sky Cinema / Shutterstock / Paolo Roversi / Pace Gallery

Models from the fall-winter 2023 collection "Return to the Source". In it, the designer once again presented her vision of the space the body can occupy or leave empty in clothing, but she used symmetry—an unlikely technique from Comme des Garçons. Image: Farfetch

Junya Watanabe Comme Des Garçons

Rei Kawakubo has a unique talent for identifying and developing the talents of others. Throughout her extensive career, she has significantly influenced numerous stars of visual culture, including graphic designers, photographers, space decorators, and artists. Her ability to inspire and support creative endeavors makes her a key figure in the world of art and design.

Rei Kawakubo has been the mentor of Junya Watanabe, a graduate of Tokyo Fashion College, since 1984. Watanabe began his career creating patterns, later becoming the designer for the Comme des Garçons Tricot casual wear line. In 1992, he presented his first collection under his own name. Since 1993, Watanabe has developed a separate line within the Comme des Garçons fashion house—Junya Watanabe Comme Des Garçons. He enjoys complete creative freedom, as Kawakubo does not interfere with his work. This collaboration marked an important stage in the development of Japanese fashion, highlighting Watanabe's unique approach to design and its influence on contemporary style.

Watanabe, like his experienced teacher, creates unique design solutions through deconstruction and bold experiments with cut and structure. His works are distinguished not only by their original forms, but also by their humorous elements, thanks to which the models can combine a variety of fabrics and materials. At the same time, the designer often uses visual references to historical styles, which gives his collections special depth and layering.

Dress and skirt by Junya Watanabe Comme Des Garçons Image: Archive Vintage

Junya Watanabe Jacket by Comme Des Garçons Photo: Dover Street Market

Collaborations, Lines, and the Cult of the Brand

In 2011, Comme des Garçons CEO Adrian Joffe drew a parallel in an interview between the company and a tree with stable roots and constantly changing branches. This metaphor accurately reflects the essence of the brand, which periodically launches and closes its collections. This approach allows Comme des Garçons to remain relevant and adapt to changing fashion trends while maintaining its unique identity.

In 1988, the Comme des Garçons Shirt brand was founded, specializing exclusively in shirts. In 1993, a women's clothing sub-brand, Comme des Garçons Comme Des Garçons, was created. In 2009, the BLACK Comme des Garçons line was launched, focusing on more affordable items. It was originally intended to be temporary, but it continues to exist to this day.

Unisex jumpsuit from the Comme des Garçons Black line Image: La Garconne

The most successful sub-brand of the Comme des Garçons fashion house is Comme des Garçons Play. Since its launch in 2002, the brand has produced basic clothing and accessories targeting a young audience. The Play logo has become a symbol associated with one of the world's leading streetwear brands and has gained popularity among streetwear enthusiasts.

In the 2000s, Comme des Garçons began actively collaborating with mass-market brands, which significantly increased its popularity. One of its most successful projects was the Comme des Garçons x H&M collection, released in 2009. Play has also launched design collaborations, including collaborations with famous personalities and companies outside the fashion industry, such as The Simpsons creator Matt Groening and Coca-Cola. These collaborations not only expanded Comme des Garçons' audience but also strengthened its position in the market, making stylish and unique pieces accessible to a wider audience.

One of the design options for Converse Play sneakers. Image: The RealReal

Rubber boots with sawdust decor from the Comme des Garçons x Melissa collaboration. Image: Clothbase

Image: Comme Des Garcons x H&M

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Converse sneakers are more than just shoes; they are a true fashion icon that have survived decades and gained popularity all over the world. Since their appearance in the early 20th century, Converse has become a symbol of street style and youth culture.

Originally created in 1917 as basketball shoes, Converse quickly gained popularity among various subcultures. Over time, Converse has become a favorite not only of athletes, but also of musicians, artists, and fashionistas. Their unique design and versatility make them suitable for any style, from classic to avant-garde.

Converse sneakers are unique in their simplicity and comfort. The All Star model, for example, has become iconic thanks to its minimalist style and variety of color options. These sneakers easily combine with a variety of clothing, from jeans and shorts to dresses and skirts, making them the perfect choice for any occasion.

In recent years, Converse has been actively introducing new technologies and materials while maintaining its authenticity. The brand continues to collaborate with renowned designers and artists, releasing limited edition collections that become collectibles.

Converse sneakers are more than just shoes; they are part of a culture that continues to inspire a new generation. Their story is a story of self-expression, freedom, and style that will live forever.

What Concrete and Melancholy Smell Like

Most major fashion houses have their own perfume lines. This is not only a standard source of income, but also an effective way to attract a wide audience to the brand. The creation of perfumes allows fashion houses to expand their influence in the market and strengthen their image. In addition, unique fragrances become an important part of the brand's identity, which contributes to the formation of customer loyalty and increases recognition.

In 1981, Comme des Garçons surprised the public with its visual art, and in 1994, it made a splash in the world of perfumery. That year, the brand introduced its first fragrance, which, like the avant-garde collections of Rei Kawakubo, demonstrated a unique interaction with the body. To truly understand its sound, the scent had to be applied to the skin, and each time it revealed itself differently depending on the individual characteristics of the wearer.

The company continued to create unconventional, avant-garde, and complex fragrances. In 1998, Odeur 53 was introduced—an agender-neutral and abstract anti-perfume distinguished by a unique composition of unexpected inorganic elements. This fragrance has become an iconic example of a bold approach to the art of perfumery, emphasizing the brand's desire for innovation and experimentation in the world of fragrances.

Reviews of the sound of Odeur 53 by Comme des Garçons Screenshot: Fragrantica / Skillbox Media website

An eau de parfum dedicated to concrete, the universal fabric of urban landscapes. Image: Comme des Garçons

Incense is a perfume series on the theme of spiritual travel through time and the world's main centers of history. The compositions are dedicated to the residence of the Pope in exile, Avignon, the ancient "golden city" of Jaisalmer, Kyoto with hundreds of temples, the world capital of cinema, Ouarzazate, and Zagorsk. Zagorsk is an olfactory picture of an ancient monastery, melancholy, lights in a dark church, and the winter purity of the forest. Image: Comme des Garçons

The Beautiful Chaos of Dover Street Market

Rei Kawakubo doesn't limit herself to the role of a fashion designer or solely create clothes. At her company, Comme des Garçons, she covers many aspects of design—from strategic planning to printing and store window dressing. Every detail bears the imprint of her unique vision, values, and ideas. Thanks to this, her work has had a significant influence not only on fashion but also on the approaches to selling it.

In 2004, Comme des Garçons introduced a new retail format: pop-up stores. These temporary retail spaces opened in unusual locations and operated for no more than a year. That same year, Rei Kawakubo and Adrian Joffe founded Dover Street Market in London, a unique interpretation of the traditional department store. This multi-story building is distinguished by its corners displaying products from various brands. The central concept was to create a "beautiful chaos" uniting designers and artists, fashion and anti-fashion, art and anti-art, perfume and anti-perfumery. Dover Street Market has become a place where various cultural and creative directions intersect, making it an important part of modern retail.

To celebrate the store's fifteenth anniversary in the winter of 2019–2020, the façade of London's Dover Street Market was decorated with graffiti art by Pokras Lampas. Image: Pokras Lampas / Behance

Dover Street Market sells books selected by curators. This is mostly not pop literature, but works on complex themes and albums with visual research. Screenshot: Dover Street Market / Skillbox Media website

Ray's involvement in the formation of not just fashion, but an entire visual culture, became the basis for the emergence of large multi-brand stores around the world. These stores offer a selection of new labels from young designers, home goods, records, and books, while creating a stylish space free from the traditional elements of luxury retail.

Installation at the Simone Rocha corner in Dover Street Market New York Photo: Stewart Schafer

Influence on design

Rei Kawakubo has deservedly earned the title of "Mother of Deconstructivism" thanks to her radical creative approaches. The anti-aesthetic of Comme des Garçons has had a significant influence on numerous fashion designers, who credit her work with inspiring and changing their approach to fashion. Among Kawakubo's most famous followers are the Antwerp Six and Martin Margiela, whose works also reflect the spirit of experimentation and reinvention in the fashion world.

Leather dress and Margiela topImage: Archive Vintage

Kawakubo introduced the world to new names and radically changed the approach to luxury fashion. It was on the Dover Street Market platforms that Gosha Rubchinskiy's collections were first presented. At that time, the Comme des Garçons brand collaborated with the mass-market sneakers Vans and the Japanese brand of premium pearls Mikimoto, which allowed it to maintain its cult status among both skaters and bohemians.

On the left are Rassvet skater pants, another brand that was “discovered” at Comme des Garçons. On the right is a pearl necklace from one of the most expensive jewelry brands, Mikimoto. Image: Comme des Garçons / Dover Street Market.

Rei Kawakubo's work has had a significant influence on graphic and media design, art practices, and spatial design. Although punk typography, installations, and monochrome minimalism existed and developed outside of Comme des Garçons' aesthetic before her, it was Kawakubo who brought conceptual design to the world of high fashion. Her approach changed the perception of fashion as an art, opening new horizons for creativity and self-expression in the fashion industry.

From 1988 to 1991, Rei Kawakubo created Six magazine. Only eight issues had a major influence on graphic design and art direction. Screenshot: Archive.pdf / Skillbox Media website

Ultra-minimalistic interface of the brand's main website, October 2023. Screenshot: Comme des Garçons website / Skillbox Media

In In 2017, The Met Costume Museum hosted Rei Kawakubo's exhibition, "Art of In-Between." The curatorial blurb emphasized that Kawakubo's work is grounded in the concepts of koan mu, emptiness, and ma, space. These ideas reflect her unique aesthetic sensibility, creating a tension of visual ambiguity and complex elusiveness. The exhibition showcased how Kawakubo uses these philosophical concepts to create original and memorable collections that challenge traditional notions of fashion and design.

At Comme des Garçons, Kawakubo introduced a revolutionary approach to clothing design that became the basis of anti-fashion. She demonstrated that garments could transcend traditional meanings, forms, and meanings. This new perspective on fashion changed the perception of style and self-expression, opening the door to experimentation and unconventional solutions in the fashion industry.

To date, she has not provided clear explanations or commentary on the meaning of her collections.

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