‘Clothing can set you free’: Rei Kawakubo for Interview Magazine
Comme des Garçons by Paolo Roversi for Vogue Paris, October 2015
We would like to point out an interesting interview to Rei Kawakubo, Comme des Graçons designer and founder of the Maison that, besides the lines carrying the name (Comme des Garçons, Comme des Garçons-Comme des Garçons) produces Junya Watanabe, Noir-Kei Ninomiya and in the past Tao Kurihara. A not pretty commercial experience, but rather made of creativity and experimental research around clothing.
Not only some indications about the inspiring theme of the Autumn/Winter 2015-16 collection, ‘Ceremony of Separation’, but most of all a precious point of view on the meaning that an high creativity valence dress could embody and on the creativity process which supports it. A synthetic analysis on the possible physiological aspects turned up by wearing clothes that launch continuous challenge to our minds and on the hard exercise of constantly inventing ever seen works…
From the very creation of her line Comme des Garçons in 1969, the Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo has upended, reimagined, and revolutionized the codes and concepts of what fashion is and what it can be. Now 73, Kawakubo is no less visionary, still “drowning in the dark,” as she describes it, in search of something new.
TELL US ABOUT THE THEME OF THE FALL COLLECTION: I called it the Ceremony of Separation. It’s about how the beauty and power of ceremony can alleviate the pain of separating, for the one departing as well as for the one saying goodbye.
HOW DO YOU WANT PEOPLE TO FEEL WHEN THEY WEAR COMME DES GARCONS? What someone wears is an expression of oneself. When you’re just comfortable with what you’re wearing, you don’t have new thoughts. I want people to feel something and think about who they are. You can’t become truly free if you no longer think about clothes. You need to occasionally wear something strong, and that can feel strange. It makes you aware of your existence and can reaffirm your relationship with society. I think people feel a minute current running through them as they come into contact with something made by someone exploring the limits. When you put on clothes that are fighting against something, you can feel your courage grow. Clothing can set you free.
WHAT IS YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS I’m always looking to make something that didn’t exist before, fumbling about in the dark, not just while making a collection. The search for something new is a constant in my everyday life. But constantly searching for something new is like looking for a well in a desert. It is like drowning in the dark, but creation is what I built Comme des Garçons on. For a collection, I need to push myself into a corner and find a way to get over the walls. The ideas are born disconnectedly, incoherently, and slowly, slowly, a final image emerges.
IS FASHION AN ART FORM? When fashion is driven by creation, I suppose it can be called an art form. But I have no concept of art in my work. Clothes are only completed when somebody actually wears them. If they were art, they could be more abstract. As long as something is new and has never been seen before, I don’t mind if people call it art. Wear them if you dare.
HOW DO YOU BALANCE ART AND COMMERCE? Comme des Garçons is a company founded on creation, but the link to business cannot be ignored. As the designer who is also head of the company, I have been able to “design” the company based on these same values. I want to take ultimate responsibility for the things I make and follow through everything right up to the end. What emerged, therefore, was a single decisive and coherent idea. Creation is our business.
DO YOU HAVE AN ULTIMATE GOAL? There is no end and no goal. As long as I’m attempting to make something that never existed before, an end is out of the question.
HOW IMPORTANT IS VISUAL COMMUNICATION? Extremely. I don’t trust words.
WHAT IS BEAUTY? Beauty should bring excitement.
Rei Kawakubo for Interview Magazine, October 2015 http://www.interviewmagazine.com/fashion/rei-kawakubo-1#_
Our selection for Autumn/Winter 2015-16 collection:
Comme des Garçons calf-length dress in rayon velvet hand-cut lace with embroidered flowers, crew-neck, sleeveless, zip and hook back closure, slim fit cut at the waist.
Junya Watanabe wide corolla cape in wool jersey floral origami, zip closure.
Comme des Garçons man jacket in embroidered lace of washed cotton and polyester, single-breasted with lapels, joined at the bottom with an overlapping flap, one small button on the neck, two patch pockets, small back slit.
Comme des Garçons man trousers with darts in creased high-tech polyester fabric, very wide leg with turn-up at the hem, zip and two buttons closure, two side welt pockets, two back welt pockets, one with button, belt loops.
Comme des Garçons calf-length dress in treated high-tech polyester fabric, wide line cut at the belt with back pleating, jacket with lapels bodice and joined flap, two horizontal welt pockets.
Trippen low-cut shoe in soft cowhide leather with overlapping diagonal crossed flap on the instep, new ‘spot’ sole with two rubber blocks and non-slipper base made on iron stamps.
Comme des Garçons wool jacket larger at the bottom, single-breasted, central buttons, shirt rounded neck, raglan shoulder, squared raw cut holes with polyurethane ribbons in contrasting colour.
Comme des Garçons divided skirt in glossy silk and wool gabardine, balloon style, 2 side welt pockets, drawstring and elastic band at the belt, arch-shaped stitchings conferring wideness.
Comme des Garçons man jacket in treated high-tech polyester fabric, single-breasted with lapels, joined at the bottom with an overlapping flap, one small button on the neck, two patch pockets, small back slit.
Comme des Garçons Comme des Garçons wide divided skirt in treated high-tech polyester fabric with vertical stripes weft, waistband and elastic band at the belt, side vertical pockets, flared on the sides.
Comme des Garçons calf-length dress in stiff wool and silk satin with see-through cloud lace inserts in jacquard cotton lace, crew-neck, sleeveless, wide egg line, side welt pockets, side zip closure.
Comme des Garçons doubled sweater in nylon tulle on the inside coming out at the bottom and from the cuffs, and on the outside in three-dimensional knitted alpaca and wool with inside/outside cones, rounded neck, slim fit.
Comme des Garçons divided skirt in glossy silk and wool gabardine, balloon style, 2 side welt pockets, drawstring and elastic band at the belt, arch-shaped stitchings conferring wideness.
Trippen shoe in soft cowhide leather, slightly overlapped and asymmetric closure with laces, classic sole in non-slip rubber with rounded toe.
Comme des Garçons short shirt in treated polyester poplin, crew-neck, with horizontal stitching at the bottom, slim fit, long sleeve, central and side zip, darts on the front, on the back and at the breast.
Comme des Garçons divided skirt in glossy silk and wool gabardine, balloon style, 2 side welt pockets, drawstring and elastic band at the belt, arch-shaped stitchings conferring wideness.
Comme des Garçons calf-length divided skirt in embroidered lace of washed cotton and polyester, wide fit, a leg shorter than the other, drawstring and elastic band at the belt, 2 side welt pockets, could be wear entering just one leg.
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