1970s-1990s The Japanese Avant-garde

[luckyme]

garments started to deeply appeal to me when i discovered the japanese avant garde. still to this day, whether through an image or even better, to actually touch, these designers cause spontaneous fluctuations of the soul.

 

[fashion.fashoff]

does anybody know anything about rei kawakubo's eponymous label (dates of use, how it was marketed, photos, etc.)? i have seen a few pieces come up on ebay and recently i saw a pair of pants at a consignment store. the label reads REI KAWAKUBO in italics, all upper case. the pants were dated like cdg pieces (they were from 1992). the style was typical of early 90s japanese clothing--dark wool, chalk stripe pattern, baggy shape. i get the feeling this line was probably more conservative than the cdg lines but aside from having seen a small number of pieces, i have no information.

 

[fashion.fashoff]

if you live in nyc or will visit before april 2, the museum at FIT has an exhibit called Japan Fashion Now. the first part displays many rare early 80s cdg, miyake, and yamamoto pieces. the second part shows more recent pieces by those designers, plus many pieces by undercover and other more recent japanese designers. also some gothic lolita stuff. admission is free and it is well worth a visit if you are interested in japanese fashion.

http://www3.fitnyc.edu/museum/Japan_Fashion_Now/1980s.html

 

[user500]

comme des garcons

s/s 88,
s/s 89,
a/w 89,
s/s 90,
s/s 91,
a/w 91,
s/s 92


from corbisimages.com

 

[user500]

comme des garcons

a/w 93


from corbisimages.com

 

[user500]

comme des garcons

s/s 95

corbisimages.com

 

[fashion.fashoff]

thanks user!!!! x

 

[user500]

you are welcome, fashion.fashoff! thank's for your contrbutions!

i don't know anything about rei kawakubo eponymous line. perhaps this line/concept was stopped/ replaced, when robe de chambre and/or tricot were started? however I do not know also, when these lines were introduced and can only guess.

 

[user500]

yohji yamamoto

s/s 85,
a/w 85,
s/s 86,
a/w 86,
a/w 88,
s/s 89,
a/w 89,
s/s 90,
s/s 92


from corbisimages.com

 

[user500]

issey miyake

a/w 83,
a/w 83,
s/s 85,
s/s 88,
a/w 88,
s/s 91,
a/w 91,
s/s 92,
a/w 93,
a/w 97


corbisimages.com

 

[softgrey]

there is an exhibit about japanese fashion- both past and present...
our own member estella told me about it...
if you go- you might see her there~!...


the exhibit is called future beauty...
and i have to say- this thread seems seriously misplaced in this section of the forum...
this is not about the past at all...
it is about the FUTURE...
and the FUTURE IS NOW>>>~~~!!!...

Future Beauty
30 years of Japanese fashion
04 mar 11 > 19 jun 11

"Nothing seen before, nothing repeated before; instead, new discoveries that gaze into the future, that are liberated and alive." Comme des Garçons

"Future Beauty" is the first comprehensive overview of Japanese avant-garde fashion of the past 30 years to be presented in Europe. In the early 1980s, Japanese designers like Rei Kawakubo, Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto began questioning the Western ideals of beauty, and they redefined fashion from scratch. The narrow silhouette of Western couture gave way to flowing forms and a reduced, monochrome range of colours – nothing was to detract from the cut and proportion of a piece of clothing. The decorative language was mainly derived from the material: Old and defective fabrics were used as well as opulent materials to cloak the human figure and create voluminous space between the fabric and the body. Rei Kawakubo became famous for the beggar or rag look of her label "Comme des garcons". The models from her collection were full of holes, torn and without any distinctive colours. Her anarchistic approach, which is still valid today, has made her one of the most influential fashion designers in the world. Her work, and that of Miyake and Yamamoto, are the expression of the Japanese concept of beauty known as wabi-sabi. Finding beauty in modesty and imperfection.

Besides the pioneering designs of Kawabuko, Miyake and Yamamoto, "Future Beauty" also presents among others Japanese fashion of the next generation – pieces by Junya Watanabe, Jun Takahashi, Tao Kurihara as well as Jil Sander for Uniqlo. The exhibition is divided into four sections: In "praise of shadows" covers Japanese fashion's preference for dark monochromes; "Flatness" focuses on simple geometric shapes and the interplay between two-dimensionality and volume; the section "Tradition and innovation" looks at the radical renewal of traditional Japanese clothing and textile techniques; and, finally, "Cool Japan" examines the symbiotic relationship between street style, popular culture and haute couture.

Exhibition architecture by Sou Fujimoto
exhibition in cooperation with the
Kyoto Costume Institute
Barbican Art Gallery, London
exhibition supported by
japan foundation
nomura foundation
shiseido co., ltd.

public tours

 

[softgrey]

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

1
rei kawakubo / comme des garçons
spring/summer 1997
collection of the kyoto costume institute
photograph by taishi hatakeyama

2
yohji yamamoto
spring / summer 1998
photograph by inez van lamsweerde and
vinoodh matadin
art direction and design by m/m (paris)
courtesy matthew marks gallery, new york

3
rei kawakubo / comme des garçons
autumn/winter 1983–84
black rayon jacquard dress with wide rectangular skirt
collection of the kyoto costume institute
photo naoya hatakeyama, 2009

4
final home / kosuke tsmura
1994
'final home' coat
collection of the kyoto costume institute
photograph by taishi hatakeyama

5
mikio sakabe
autumn/winter 2008–09
© mikio sakabe co., ltd.

 

[fashion.fashoff]

^this sounds very similar to the great japan fashion now exhibit now at FIT.

the strand has multiple discounted copies of the book accompanying future beauty. the main focus is on the new designers. the earlier designers are dealt with fairly cursorily.

i wabi sabi!

 

[user500]

Rei Kawakubo, Comme des Garçons.

Rei Kawakubo / Comme des Garçons, Autumn/Winter 1983-84, Collection of the Kyoto Costume Institute, photograph by Taishi Hirokawa.

arttattler.com

 

[fashion.fashoff]

^ thanks user. fyi the 1st one is from 1981.

 

[fashion.fashoff]

1987 ad for issey miyake permanente line

scans by me

issey miyake website:

ISSEY MIYAKE PERMANENTE, which was launched in 1985, was based upon original shapes and fabrics used in previous ISSEY MIYAKE Collections and intended to be a line of classic, long-lasting clothes.

 

[fashion.fashoff]

comme des garcons 1983

it is made of 2 layers of gauze. oversized with exaggerated funnel neck.

pic by me

 

[Inaya]

wow, how rare.. thank you for sharing

 

[runner]

issey miyake S/S 95


smrj.go.jp

 

[softgrey]

pretty colours...
i would totally wear something like that right now...