“The strength of Rei Kawakubo is definitely the fact that she has never let herself be drawn into some kind of insidious artistic laziness, to which, her many collections for Comme des Garçons, could have easily lead. She is not one of those designers who, after achieving success, rest upon the same old, tried-and-true marketing techniques season after season”.

And then:

“Every show outdoes the one before it, without contradicting it. Kawakubo always starts over fresh.

[H]er most recent collections have been characterized by a lively spirit and boldness that diverge radically from commercial conventions. They are, nevertheless, something everyone can learn from, because despite the exuberance and stylistic innovation of each collection, the artist never loses sight of her chosen field of expression: clothing“.

These are the words of Olivier Saillard, artistic director of the Musée Galliera in Paris, in the October issue of Vogue-France, presenting Rei Kawakubo’s winter collection. Greatly photographed and celebrated the Autumn/Winter 2012-2013 season for Comme des Garçons is another, glaring demonstration of the provocative genius of the Japanese designer. The show has in fact staged a sort of contemporary pictogram of fashion, a rudimentary vocabulary with variable geometry, consisting of round jackets, trapezoidal dresses and straight skirts.

The catwalk, in an almost religious silence that was interrupted only by the constant shooting of the photographers, was performed without music for the first half of the show and was traversed by paradoxical two-dimensional multi-coloured forms. It was a powerful visual impact of stylized garments, tailored and placed on models similar to paper dolls, secondary ambassadors of majestic volumes, more typical of haute couture than prêt-a-porter.

In a fashion system that continues to place the feminine silhouette at its centre, Rei Kawakubo pushes the power of ideas forward, bending, with great irony and a certain irreverence, the changing of the seasons to their creative experimentation, with unquestionable talent and credibility.

Now discover the F/W 2012-2013 Comme des Garçons collection on IVO MILAN!

Many thanks go out to COOL & CHIC STYLE FASHION and to FASHION & FCUKER for photos!