Comme des Garçons F/W 05.06 Paris

battles · May 15, 2005

i'm a bit late but this is really gorgeous.

brian · May 15, 2005

travolta said:

brian, who did the makeup?
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i have no idea... i don't know much about who does things backstage at cdg shows.

luxmode · May 15, 2005

my god...the details, the fabric and the construction are all just amazing. post #64 is divine and i just love the second pic in post # 82....and so many others. i can't wait to see this in person.

thanks for the new pics, brian!

meme527 · May 15, 2005

travolta said:

...a celebration of rememberance of the dead and the continuity of life..basically looking at mortality and the purpose of our existence--
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there is a great combination of morbidity and joy, lust for life in "day of the dead" (dia de los muertos, 11/1) celebrations. i always loved that, and can see it clearly in these pieces. come to think of it, the kind of emotional impact that this work has reminds me of the impact of frida kahlo's, in both the "blood and guts" and the level of technique. it seems to me to be a strong and feminine power radiating here.

i "read" this collection as a look at the need for women to wear masks, in order to fulfill the expectations of society. look at the beautiful straightjacket in one of brian's close-ups! in another detail shot there is the subtle implication that the model's behind is exposed - it's not - but somehow kawakubo creates this illusion that speaks directly to your subconscious mind.

i do find many of the pieces very wearable - i only wish i could wear them, or at least try them on - and the whole collection almost overwhelmingly beautiful. genius.

meme

bb-doll · May 16, 2005

god~ CDG is stunningly beautiful...
i was quite shocked at the contrast with the SS05,
but it works out so well. I love this brand for its constant creativity, always trying to reinvent itself!!

simply. gorgeous.

butbeautiful · Jul 28, 2005

Comme des Garçons BROKEN BRIDE

Rei Kawakubo's new collection inspired by the wedding dress, but breaking all the traditions of what a wedding dress is supposed to be.

it's interesting.

View collection here, http://www.style.com/fashionshows/c...slideshowId=slideshow24172&iphoto=0&play=true

helena · Jul 28, 2005

johnny - where do you suggest I move it to? A Junya thread?

faust · Jul 28, 2005

helena said:

johnny - where do you suggest I move it to? A Junya thread?
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maybe it's ok to delete, since juice started a separate thread?

softgrey · Aug 30, 2005

i think this is one of the most beautifully poetic and artistic collections in the history of fashion...

helena · Aug 30, 2005

yes beautiful but tricky to wear without looking deathly! just thought of a song called deathly......

softgrey · Aug 30, 2005

travolta said:

has anyone brought up that this looks like the mexican holiday day of the dead? it does make a lot of sense..a celebration of rememberance of the dead and the continuity of life..basically looking at mortality and the purpose of our existence--i could see that being very rei.
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such a lovely sentiment...

softgrey · Aug 30, 2005

helena said:

yes beautiful but tricky to wear without looking deathly! just thought of a song called deathly......
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lol...and i'm thinking of a song called 'the happy goth'...

i looked through the collection again and i think it is really fantastic eveningwear mostly...
with some great separates...

especially skirts...
which are a serious signature for rei at this point in her career...
*having done that whole collection which revolved completely around variations on a skirt...

i keep trying to imagine someone wearing this to a real life function...
you'd look like a beautiful doll imo...
and that's a look that works for me...

nqth · Sep 6, 2005

An article on Washington Post

September 6, 2005
Black is back to sober up fall lines

By Robin Givhan
The Washington Post

A favorite fashion aphorism has it that the designer Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garcons invented "black." The year was 1981 and she had just debuted a distinctively avant-garde, monochromatic collection in Paris. Given the fashion industry's ability to engage in a breathtaking degree of hyperbole — the word "revolutionary" has been applied to nail polish — one would be forgiven for assuming that the industry meant the designer actually invented the color.

Instead, Kawakubo is credited with transforming black into an aesthetic philosophy of minimalism, intellectualism and refusal. Kawakubo infused black with her thoughtful musings on the nature of attire, the oppressiveness of the fashion machine and its stratification of society. By the time Kawakubo had her way with it, black was heavy with meaning.

For the last few years, though, black has been in remission. Even Kawakubo took a break. A boldly colored, feminine, Bohemian sensibility has dominated the runways, leading to a summer filled with Gypsy skirts, layers of colorful tank tops and Chinese slippers in every imaginable hue.

For fall, however, black has made an auspicious return — not just the color, but much of the attendant attitude.

Kawakubo relied heavily on black in a fall collection ostensibly inspired by weddings. The cornerstone of the collection is a white bridal gown that is twisted and tugged until it is an oddly misshapen garment displaying a charming, scrappy character. The collection builds as the white gown combines chaotically with elements of a black tuxedo. Slowly the incongruous pieces transform into graceful black dresses with melancholy ruffles and a mood that wobbles between celebratory and mournful, masculine and feminine.

Designers have embraced black as more than just another color in which to knit a cashmere turtleneck. Miuccia Prada and Calvin Klein's Francisco Costa use it to underscore the silhouette of a garment and give it a detached sophistication. When Prada presented her fall collection in Milan, the first garment to appear on her dramatically lit runway was a simple, spare black dress. This was the start of a new chapter in fashion. Cleaner, leaner, but no less rich.

These clothes don't deny the need to be frivolous, the desire to be lighthearted or the pleasure of a well-placed frill. But every so often, something in the air just says it's time to sober up.
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