The Comme des Garçons "Universe"

[Spacemiu]

I think thats so cool she is doing swim suits, i have always thought that there should be creative swimwear.

[The Baron]

Originally Posted by softgrey

i actually know someone who loves creative design and swimming...haha....
but i am far to vain to ever put on such an unflattering swimsuit...
no matter how 'functional' it may be...

I think perhaps the time has come for these two concepts to be placed in separate categories. There is the swimsuit, made for actual swimming, and there is what used to be called in times of yore a "bathing costume". A very apt phrase, "bathing costume", since it emphasizes the lack of actual athletic swimming and the concern for aesthetic perception.

Dear fashion industry, with your fickle love of things retro, please re-adopt the term "bathing costume". Its time has come. Again.

[travolta]

rei designed the set, lighting and costumes for merce cunningham's 'scenario'



http://www.maisondeladanse.com/angl/.../spec/p_10.htm

[happycanadian]

holy mother of God.

i had no idea that the CdG universe was soooo huge. i really wanna see the men's swimwear line too, as i am one of those who love creative design ... and swimming. lol.

i'm here in korea right at the moment, but i'll be taking a vacation to Japan for about 5 days in March. could someone do me the hugest favour and list the locations for the different CdG stores in Japan??

I would be so extreeeeeeeeemely grateful.

thanks in advance!

[kiss august]

it's so cute!~
sigh there is no CDG in Mainland China~

[Honey~Blade]

I believe you can find CdG at I.T in Shanghai, probably at Beijing as well. Though I've heard they only carry boring CdG Play stuff. If you ever go HK then you have a better chance also they stock alot of CdG from past seasons at warehouses there so you'll be able to find great deals!

[The Baron]

Those dance costumes are beautiful...thanks for posting that, travolta. Rei is such a good fit for Merce Cunningham.

[Mutterlein]

Originally Posted by travolta

rei designed the set, lighting and costumes for merce cunningham's 'scenario'



http://www.maisondeladanse.com/angl/.../spec/p_10.htm

This is very interesting. The instructor for one of my classes actually was the lighting director and he had a very funny story about his experience working with rei. She was asked to do the costumes and agreed but later decided she wanted to do the set and the lights as well. Her designs went WAY over the budget and were not all that functional for the dancers either (she hadn't seen the dance until the opening night) and most of the tech crew were not pleased. When she came a few weeks before to check on progress Merce had to act as a mediator between my instructor and Rei so they wouldn't go crazy! She was very polite he did say. It was mostly her assistant based in New York who handled everything.

[travolta]

thanks for the info

what you say doesn't surprise me. i kinda have this impression that rei was audacious enough and bright enough to make her big weakness (very divergent thinking, and not as interested in technicalities) into her strength (making connections). i would say there's something about her designs that i relate to, having tried my hand at creating functional design, and i think the biggest inspiration she can provide is that she turned the tables on how we approach design.

btw. those costumes do give this impression of bumbling dancers, but merce cunningham, from what i've briefly read, isn't really a traditionalist.

[nqth]

I think droogist saw the dance and she also said the clothes don't fit in. (I am sorry if I mislead you, droogist:-) I guess it's the point. It might be so "archaic" to think that dance is about effortlessly grace movements, flying against gravity. It is all about suffering, effort:-P (I am thin on dance, tho:-)))

I've had a small chat with a japanese girl about Comme and Yohji... She said the Comme clothes are "hard":-P. In the mean that it's everything but nice clothes, hehe. One must "suffer", or be very strong, wearing them. It must be an inner need:-P

[travolta]

maybe comme's clothes is about being resourceful. the garments that were made from basic patterns out of liner fabric came to mind (it inspired me to rip the liner out of my own old coat and try to turn it into a blouse, showcasing the production traces or the seams as compelling details), as well as the discarded paper in production she reinevented as a dress(reappropriation of materials)

[droogist]

Originally Posted by nqth

I think droogist saw the dance and she also said the clothes don't fit in. (I am sorry if I mislead you, droogist:-) I guess it's the point. It might be so "archaic" to think that dance is about effortlessly grace movements, flying against gravity. It is all about suffering, effort:-P (I am thin on dance, tho:-)))

No, you read me right, nqth. The clothes didn't fit in. I'm not surprised to read Mutterlein's story; there didn't seem to be much integration between the choreography and the costumes at all - except for one humorous vignette involving a female dancer in a giant coccoon-ish straightjacket getting picked up, carried around, and set down again at various intervals, but that looked like an insertion . I think it's indeed possible that Ms. Kawakubo might have had a subtle form of artistic sabotage in mind when she designed to costumes - taking the dancers out of their comfort zone, as you say. But whether that's the case or not, I think the dance itself suffered. Greatly, even.

[Colette_B]

Does anyone know if there is an official website for comme des garcons?

[Baizilla]

nop... but the closest thing you come to an official cdg website is...

http://www.doverstreetmarket.com/

[Colette_B]

Thank you!