Wayward fashion house Comme des Garcons give Glasgow's flourishing art scene a home.
As part of their series of guerilla stores appearing everywhere from Singapore and Berlin to Athens and Rekjavik, Comme des Garcons have, in cahoots with local Glaswegians, taken over a three storey warehouse on the banks of the Clyde. Outside accepted shopping districts, the idea is "to propose an array of merchandise that is not beholden to seasons or other industry dictates, but is instead specific to its locale."
The ex-Customs & Excise building turned tobacco warehouse, turned squat-rave heaven has been derelict for 40 years. Comme des Garcons are taking over the ground floor but offering the rest of the enormous space to loca artists Mutley and Goerge Matheson. Hoping to create a haven for the staggering amount of artists graduating from Glasgow's highly respected university, rather than losing them to the Big Smoke. The building will provide a permanent studio space for 35 artists, and house two galleries and recording and rehearsal studios.
Comme des Garcons' +44 414 (after the local area code) will take over the ground floor for one year. A range of clothes and creations, some specific to the shop, some made by the artists working upstairs will appear among a one-of-a-kind interior decor. A local motorbike repair shop has offloaded useless parts on the project, which local artists, including Turner Prize nominee Jim Lambie have fashioned "to make the palce interesting and unique," says Mutley. They may not be working with the best materials, but "luckily, we're all artists, so we can think creatively enough."
