#rei kawakubo

Zendaya attends the ’Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art Of The In-Between’ Costume Institute Gala 
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
May 1, 2017

Comme Des Garcons oversized draped wool coat, 1980s.

Comme Des Garcons asymmetrical wrapped wool coat, 1980s.

Comme Des Garcons long wool coat with floral baroque pattern, 1980s.

Comme Des Garcons runway asymmetrical wool coat, 1984-1985 Autumn/Winter.

Comme Des Garcons runway dolman sleeve coat, 1991-1992 Autumn/Winter.

Comme Des Garcons kimono sleeve wool coat, early 1980s.

Comme Des Garcons 1980s hand dyed skirt.

Comme Des Garcons hooded kimono coat, early 1980s.

Comme Des Garcons green teddy bear coat with belt, probably early 1980s.

Comme Des Garcons black satin deformation dress with white collar, probably 1980s.

Comme Des Garcons “giraffe neck” sheer dress from the 1992 A/W “Lilith” Collection.

Comme Des Garcons double breasted dress with stitching used to create the appearance of fabric damage, 1980s.

Louis Vuitton: Celebrating the Monogram - The Icon and the Iconoclasts

I told you there was something juicy coming along for my blog, and here it is: six big names of fashion and photography have collaborated with Louis Vuitton to reinvent one of the most famous signature prints in fashion: LV monogram.

It’s something every magazine and fashion website have talked about recently, and until yesterday the exhibit of the six creations was in Milan - and I live in Milan now so you can understand, I could not miss it!

The exhibit was just in the fashion district of the city, seconds to the famous Via Montenapoleone, where many brands and designers have their flagship stores and ateliers. Palazzo Serbelloni was the background to the event, a neoclassical palace which was the perfect match to the role the monogram plays in fashion today, being one of the great classics of clothing.

The guests were immediately welcomed by a big reproduction of the brand logo just at the entrance, which strangely harmonically mixed with the extremely detailed frescos, the opulent chandeliers and the sophisticated architecture of the building.

And then, on the first floor, in very small and intimate spaces, the six creations were displayed in six different windows divided into a brief path which connected three or four of the amazingly decorated rooms of the palace.

First, you found yourself in front of Rei Kawakubo’s interpretation of the monogram, her ‘bag with holes’. And what holes! Maybe too big even to be considered vintage, but her goal was just that: creating something that is already old, used, wearied, something that has a story, just like Louis Vuitton has a long history of tradition.

Just in front of that, the ensemble created by Cindy Sherman (photo 6; she’s a photographer) captured your attention with its colour. I laughed reading what Cindy said about this collaboration: 'I just wanted to have a trunk all for me!’. You don’t say! I would like to have a Louis Vuitton trunk all for me as well, pity that no one asks me to create one :D Anyway, I just thought her idea was one of the best as it introduced colour maintaining the monogram as the outside of the box - so there’s an interesting contrast inside/outside - and its extremely functional: it’s like carrying an entire wardrobe with you!

On the other side, hidden behind a corner, the gold-studded/red decorated shopping bags by Christian Louboutin showed their awesomeness. The photos of the video created by Gordon Von Steiner for the collab (photo 7) covered the whole wall behind the window, showing how Parisian these bags feel.

Change of space this time: after a short passage, on the two sides of the room you got to, other two creations were unveiled. The first one, on the left, was definitely my favourite: the sculptural backpacks created by industrial designer (cool!) Marc Newson (photo 8) were a sudden pop of colour. But what I liked the most was how many different qualities they seemed to have: apart from the playfulness given by the popping tones, they maintained a sophisticated vibe, but they were also pretty functional: the designer thought about a bag which could be cool but at the same time had to be the perfect accessory for adventurous people, with lots of pockets and, most important of all, they are structured in a way that allows the bag to stand without falling down when someone puts it down. B R I L L I A N T!

On the other side of the room the lonely twisted box designed by Frank Gehry (photo 9) floated inside its window, dropping curved shadows under the strategic lights of the little bulbs. It kinda looked like a picture from Salvador Dalí: the whole composition had something distorted and surreal which brought your mind to a dreamy dimension.

And about dreams, who can be the best to 'design’ them, if not the amazing Karl Lagerfeld (photo 10)? Kaiser Karl was inspired by the world of boxe, which, in his opinion, 'is a sport everyone should practice’. As usual, he thought big, in every sense: he designed an entire collection of bags and accessories together with a sort of 'locker’ - covered in LV monogram, of course - which contained a punch ball - again, covered in monogram. The locked also had wheels to move it around in case you need. 

I was astounded by how far the minds of these creative characters could go, not only by thinking 'aesthetically’, but also thinking 'outside the box’ in a more practical manner, inventing things that can REALLY be used .

It was a very short trip, but wow, after that, I felt complete: that’s what happens when you love fashion and when you feel loved by fashion :)

xxx

Paris Fashion Week - Days 5 & 6

Day 5

The simplest you can get was definitely at Junya Watanabe’s (photo 1) - white shirts - with the most - aesthetically - complicated you can get - origami: together they made a wonderful match. Black and white was the essential palette, the pieces were manipulated beautifully: leather maxi-skirts looking like fish scales, amazingly constructed three-dimensional shapes for jackets, trousers, decorative elements, capes reminding of Chinese paper lamps. It was wonderland - and wonderful.

Superwoman is instead the first word you could think of in front of Tsumori Chisato’s collection (photo 2), where comics were the centerpiece. Amazing illustrations over cute A-line dresses or baseball jackets gave an atmosphere in between 60s and 70s. Loved the pieces where the comic inspiration was more subtle but still there, through shapes borrowed from graphic novels - like cloudy curved lines or spiked figures. At Vivienne Westwood’s (photo 3) Andreas Kronthaler’s t-shirt at the end of the show didn’t leave space for doubt - if ever there was any: this show was about the concept of unisex. Stilettos and fitted jackets or bustier for men, formal suits for women: roles were switched, but they were also mixed and reinvented. In the usual extravaganza of prints, the most interesting pieces were definitely the extremely oversize suits, changing from being formal pieces of clothing to a comfy streetwear choice.

With experimentation at its purest, Comme des Garçons (photo 4) never upsets. This time with all the lace, bows, white and brocade, I had the impression Rei Kawakubo wanted to talk about what happens behind the bedroom doors. I read some reviews talking about mourning, but I guess this mourning theme took over a little bit too much, both on the runways and in the reviewer’s minds. No, if there was mourning in this collection it was linked - as many times it’s done - to a very different yet close topic: sex. But it was sex in Kawakubo’s style: there was lace, but it was not used in a common way, it covered the body, nearly eating it, prevailing over it; bows did the same, covering every inch of the body. And then gold brocade, nothing more representative for the idea of luxury.

Basic silhouettes and the pairing of thick structured materials like plaid and leather with ethereal chiffon were the choice of Acne Studios. Beautiful the decorating maxi-stitches. It was then the last ready-to-wear collection for Viktor & Rolf (photo 5) before they completely dedicate their work to the couture - and you could actually see some couture in this collection. Brocade and metallic colours were rich but not actually the real couture moment of the collection; it was more about the structure and the perfect tailoring of shirts, with meters of ruffles and crenellated edges giving the impression of unfinished - yet, it’s perfectly finished and awesomely beautiful.

Day 6

Rei Kawakubo’s secondary line Comme des Garçons Comme des Garçons opened the day and it was impossible not to imagine Asian schoolgirls wearing every single piece of this collection: from the Korean collars to the black Chinese-inspired dresses and the ensemble reminding of sailor uniforms - Sailor Moon was a Japanese manga and anime after all - Rei Kawakubo seemed to explore the world of Asian youth. Wonderful the insertion of activewear jackets among formal suits and little dresses. Couture activewear is possible, at least judging from Kenzo show (photo 6), where raincoats with bright-coloured stripes were paired with pieces with artsy details - materials manipulated to look like feathers, for example - and hi-tech fabric. Loved the flowery prints treated as camouflage.

Geometrical panels in different colours adorning extra-minimal pieces were the fil rouge for Céline collection (photo 7): slip dresses with extremely thin straps, trench coats where the focus was on the very tiny waist, duvet capes, delicately printed blouses and oversize ensembles in pure simple Céline style.

Maison Rabih Kayrouz used tiny little cuts to give some more personality to the full-coloured surface of these extremely minimal dresses, with beautiful knitwear in neutral colours, juxtaposition of layers of materials in different cuts and new innovative geometrical necklines. Long silhouettes could be found at Chloé, with a tiny tad of ruffles - which are always welcome in a 70s inspired collection. Beautiful the patchwork coats and the sexy deep cleavages showing the right amount of skin.

Akris chose horizontal lines reproposed in different ways: quilted, knitted, with a degrading effect given by the quality of a particular type of fur. Colours were never extreme: they went probably towards grey and white or cream, and even when there was black, it had a sort of powdery feel to it. Jean Paul Lespagnard (photo 8) wrapped his models in beautiful tartan or abstract-inspired coats, with exaggerated proportions and revisited construction - look at the coat in the photo and notice the beautiful idea of moving the line of the shoulder very low down the sleeve. Cropped trousers were then paired to multicoloured socks, in a collection where the attention for details was essential.

Amazingly young and successful was Kolor’s collection (photo 9). I particularly loved the oversize shapes, the duvet coats, asymmetrical skirts and then the amount of sweaters with interesting details, paired with pleated conservative skirts or the plain white blouses with giant maxi-skirts at the bottom. Grand finale with Givenchy (photo 10) where a sort of dark past was readable in the looks conceived by Riccardo Tisci. Starting with black velvet and going through high necklines, conservative silhouettes, lace, dévorée fabrics, everything seemed to take you far away to the Victorian Age. There was a great deal of modernity though, especially in the subtle sexiness highlighted by naked shoulders and see-through textiles.

xxx

rei kawakubo, another magazine

Live Free & Die Strong.

Rei Kawakubo / Comme des Garçons

Art of the In-Between

I was short on time so, sadly could only had 17 minutes in this exhibition, but I could spend all day there.  Can’t wait to go back.

jinxproof:

Rei Kawakubo, 1983

“Another Day, Tomorrow” by @alexvnderblvck

“Synetic” by @alexvnderblvck

“Becoming” by @alexvnderblvck

SUBJECT: The inexorable ever-increasing dominance of Kawakubo. (vintage/antique at auction)

MEMO: The star lot in Monday’s Kerry Taylor Auction in London was this Comme des Garçons showstopper from the Broken Brides 2005 collection–went for $13,000 on an estimate of $650-$950. 

PS for actual brides, you missed the steals below. First: A gown of Edwardian Battenberg tapelace, altered in the 1930s, went for $320; below that, an embroidered and appliqued lace bridal gown, circa 1905-10, went for $225.

SHOULDA BEEN MINE: And below those, a double breasted day coat circa 1895, that, together with a 1920s grey wool riding jacket, pair of jodphurs and a 20s knitted silk swimming costume, went for $240

AAAAAAAAAAGH

Comme des Garçons - Ensemble (1988)
Photographer: Peter Lindbergh