Rei Kawakubo/Comme de Garcons

 

Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo is notable for being the founder of the fashion label Comme de Garcons.

Kawakubo was untrained as a fashion designer but studied fine art and literature at Keio university. 

Post graduation she worked in a textile company before moving on to work as a freelance stylist.

Kawakubo started Comme des Garcons in Tokyo (1969), it was established as a company in 1973. Comme des Garcons translates into 'like boys'.

The label became very successful in the 1970s, a menswear line was added to it in 1978. Comme des Garcons made its debut show in Paris, in 1981. It was highlighted for its predominant use of the colour black and distressed fabrics.

Comme des Garcons is known to specialise in garments that are anti fashion, austere and sometimes deconstructed. 

Throughout the 80's the CDG collections tended too be black, dark grey or white. The fabrics used were often draped and the overall garment would be featured frayed, with holes and an asymmetric shape.

Comme des Garcons challenged the notion of beauty with over sized garments that enveloped the female form rather than expose it.

In 1997 CDG presented one of its most memorable collections, titled 'Body meets dress, Dress meets body'. This collection included a range of figure hugging stretch garments with removable down pads sewn into them. This collection was inspired by 18th and 19th century European fashion, in which bustles and pads were used to manipulate the bust and bottom to fit the ideal female figure.

This collection lead to a collaboration between Rei Kawakubo and Merce Cunningham in 1997 on a dance piece titled 'Scenario'. 

Similarly to other fashion labels Comme des Garcons has branched out into perfume and accessories.

Some of the lines (designed by Rei Kawakubo) which fall under the Comme des Garcons label include the CDG women's collection, CDG Noir (a black dominated women's collection), CDG Homme Plus, CDG Homme Plus Evergreen, CDG Homme Deux, CDG Shirt and Play CDG.

Designers Junya Watanabe and Tao Kurihara, who started out as apprentices to Rei Kawakubo, also have their own labels under the Comme des Garcons name.

Comme des Garcons have boutiques located in Paris, New York City, Beijing, Hong Kong, Seoul, St Petersburg, Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka Fukuoka. The most famous CDG boutique is Dover Street Market, in London.