Established in 1969 in Tokyo by designer Rei Kawakubo, Comme des Garçons sits among the most avant-garde and influential fashion labels in the world. A magpie for catalyzing tempestuous designs and unconventional silhouettes, the brand is perhaps most notable for challenging traditional notions of beauty and having long been a symbol of rebellion in fashion. Comme des Garçons is not merely a clothing label — it’s a gesture that continuously redraws the parameters of the possible in fashion. Born of Japanese aesthetics but with a global face, the brand’s journey has taken it from one of the first true luxewear houses to a full-blown empire that includes elements as disparate as menswear, womenswear, perfume and these, the collaborations, all eclectic, but the brand’s signature always distinct, when not downright disruptive.
Rei Kawakubo -- The Concept of It All
At its center is Rei Kawakubo, the intellectual designer of Comme des Garcons. Before she became a designer, Kawakubo studied fine arts and literature, which explains the deep, metaphysical undercurrents to her work. She formally started the brand in 1973 and began showing in Paris in 1981, posing a challenge to Western ideas of femininity and beauty with her dark, deconstructed pieces. Kawakubo’s vision is immune to trends and seasons. Instead, she questions clothes as decoration, turning it into a language of its own, an expression of thought, a critique, a form of cutting-edge innovation.” Ms. Kawakubo’s influence can be felt well beyond Comme des Garçons and has inspired generations of designers to broaden their minds out of the commercial and into the conceptual.
Philosophy of aesthetics and language of design
The aesthetic of Comme des Garçons is defined by its radicalness. Garments often look torn, asymmetrical, or oversized — elements that have sparked outrage in the fashion world. Kawakubo introduced the concept of “beautifully ugly,” making imperfection and the avant-garde central to the brand’s ethos. “The color palette of the label is usually very stark—black being a common theme, and the materials experimental, with unusual fabrics often used to subvert traditional ideas. Collections often gravitate toward a theoretical abstraction: absence, duality, gender fluidity. These themes aren’t stated outright; rather, they’re expressed through the design, construction and presentation of each work.
Comme des Garçons Homme and Moving Beyond the Brand
Though the original Comme des GarÇons line has been seen as artistic and avant-garde to its core, its popularity has transformed into several sub-strokes and pre-collections to suit more audiences. Comme des Garçons Homme, for example, sells a more wearable line of menswear staples, while still maintaining the creative spirit of its mother brand. Comme des Garçons Homme, which has thrived under Junya Watanabe, a protégé of Kawakubo, by blending utility and high design. Other lines, like Comme des Garçons Play with its heart-with-eyes logo, designed by the Polish artist Filip Pagowski, are aimed at a younger, streetwear-focused clientele. These various sub-brands have enabled Comme des Garçons to be financially successful without losing its own very specific identity.
The Dover Street Market and Retail Experience
Beyond runway shows and collections, Comme des Garçons has revolutionized the retail experience with concept stores that are unlike any other. The most prominent is Dover Street Market, a multi-brand retail space developed by Kawakubo and her husband Adrian Joffe. Opened in London in 2004, Dover Street Market has grown to include locations in New York and Tokyo and, most recently, Los Angeles. This eclectic set of places has hopefully lots of creative opportunities, as the brand wants to bring together fashion, art and design in a curated space within each of its locations. These stores are not just outlets for clothing; they tell stories, celebrate individuality and provide a platform for the dialogue of disparate artistic voices.
Scent Line and Collaborations With Artists
Comme des Garçons Parfum also represents an important extension of the brand’s identity. Launched in 1994, the fragrance line reflects the adventurous spirit of the fashion side. Scents are composed with a similar disruptive ethos, frequently upending olfactory norms through compositions that include notes such as tar, ink or oxidized metal. Instead, each perfume is approached as a wandering through that intangible world, and not so much as a product you purchase. Aside from its own fragrances, Comme des Garçons is known for its eclectic collaborations, partnering with brands such as Nike, Supreme, Louis Vuitton and even IKEA. These partnerships never feel flimsy but rather seem to come from a shared creative vision, making them as commercial as they are compelling artistically.
Cultural Impact and Legacy
Not only is the imprint Comme des Garçons has made on fashion undeniable, but also on culture writ large. Its cocking of a snook at convention has earned it a cult among artists, designers and intellectuals. Kawakubo’s pieces can be found in major museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which mounted a solo show of her work in 2017, “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between,” that conceptualized her creations as art and not only as fashion. Living designers are rarely institutionalized but the move further raised the brand’s cultural stakes. And not just by reflecting the zeitgeist, Comme des Garçons makes it —sometimes years in advance.
Conclusion: The Future of Comme des Garçons
In a time when the world of fashion wrestles with issues of sustainability, inclusivity and the perils of digital transformation, Comme des Garçons is at once an emblem of authenticity and artistic bravery. Under the leadership of Rei Kawakubo, the brand has consistently pushed forward while holding true to its founders’ core values: experimentation, disruption and intellectual depth. Through its boundary-smashing designs, utterly eclectic collaborations and overgenre-defining perfumes, Comme des Garçons has been a lodestar for anyone who ever thought fashion should be more than clothes — that it could be a statement, a philosophy, a revolution.