COMME DES GARÇONS

Like the paths of many creative geniuses, Kawakubo’s beginnings were difficult and not well received. Her early work was seen as too radical. Against the glamour and formality of the ’60s and ’70s, she offered a deconstructive, conceptual approach.

Her use of black and the artistic nature of her clothing were seen as a drawback. In 1981, her Paris debut caused an unexpected stir, drawing harsh criticism from the press for being too dark and abstract. But although the media reception remained complex into the 1990s, Kawakubo offered a masterclass in how instinct and consistency are a creator’s most powerful tools.

Her early collections were monochrome, primarily black, with irregular cuts and a rejection of classical ideals of femininity. Kawakubo wasn’t against fashion per se, she wanted to question and explore the notions of art and creativity in relation to the human body, at a time when clothing was about glamour, elegance, and highlighting traditional masculinity or femininity. Without much exploration or critique.

But with Kawakubo, everything was different. Comme des Garçons operates in liminality, blurring lines between gender, disciplines, and the body. Inspired by dance and freedom of movement, the rejection of gender norms, and a defiance of beauty conventions, she designed garments that distorted the silhouette and treated the body like a blank canvas for complex creations.

(Below, Comme des Garçons campaign by Steven Meisel + Comme des Garçons HOMME runway looks).

The true turning point came in 1981, when Comme des Garçons debuted at Paris Fashion Week. By then, it was already a cult label in Japan, but in Paris, Kawakubo unleashed her full creative force.

The collection, unfortunately dubbed “Hiroshima Chic” by the press, was a brutally austere offering: black garments, deconstructed forms, unfinished seams, and shredded fabrics. Critics were hesitant, calling it apocalyptic. But as with any revolution, misunderstanding is often the first step toward impact.

That show sparked a new fashion paradigm. That same year, Yohji Yamamoto, Kawakubo’s romantic and creative partner at the time, also debuted in Paris. Alongside Issey Miyake, they solidified the Japanese avant-garde: a more conceptual, poetic view of fashion, whose influence can still be seen today in houses like The Row and Bottega Veneta.

Kawakubo proposed a new visual language grounded in emptiness, imperfection, and asymmetry. Comme des Garçons quickly became a global phenomenon in fashion and culture. Its pieces appeared in magazines, galleries, and exhibitions. In 1983, the brand opened its first boutique in New York. In 1988, Kawakubo launched Six magazine, featuring work by artists like Peter Lindbergh, Bruce Weber, and Salvador Dalí, further expanding the CdG universe. In the 1990s, her anti-fragrance perfumes became pioneers of niche perfumery, an excellent branding strategy.

Junya Watanabe is Rei Kawakubo’s most brilliant disciple. Born in Fukushima in 1961, he joined Comme des Garçons in 1984 as a patternmaker after graduating from Bunka Fashion College, the same school as Kawakubo. His talent was so evident that in 1992, she gave him his own line under the CdG umbrella, making him the first in-house designer to gain creative independence within the brand.

Following Watanabe’s arrival, and with the global expansion of CdG alongside Kawakubo’s partner Adrian Joffe, the brand was subdivided into multiple lines with distinct identities.

Junya Watanabe Comme des Garçons has since developed a world of its own: highly experimental yet rooted in technical mastery. His abstract silhouettes and obsession with textiles verge on architectural. Unlike Kawakubo, his work often starts with specific themes: urban tribes, school uniforms, punk, American workwear…

But as with all of Comme des Garçons, the goal is disruption. Watanabe’s approach to clothing deconstruction echoes his mentor’s philosophy. He’s also a pioneer in brand collaborations: Levi’s, The North Face, Nike, Carhartt, even MAN. These partnerships democratize his style without diluting his vision. As Kawakubo said, “If 1 + 1 doesn’t equal much more than 2, there’s no point in collaborating.”

Comme des Garçons HOMME is a core part of the brand. It launched in 1978, before the Paris debut, in response to growing male interest in the label’s radical aesthetic. But it was never a mere translation of the women’s collections. HOMME explored tailoring through an experimental lens, another area where Kawakubo left her mark.

Initially designed by Kawakubo herself, the line fused classic cuts with innovative, unexpected details: jackets with displaced hems, contrasting fabrics, and intentionally exposed seams that outlined the garment’s construction. The aesthetic was clean yet disorienting, always with a twist.

From the 1990s, Junya Watanabe took creative lead of several sub-lines like HOMME Plus, HOMME Deux, and HOMME Plus Evergreen. He pushed technical and conceptual boundaries in men’s fashion. These lines created hybrid structures, with unexpected cultural pairings (like baroque and skate) and cult collaborations that redefined streetwear.

HOMME Plus shows often reference punk, androgyny, or absurdist humor, always seeking to provoke emotion, like contemporary art. Behind every piece lies meticulous construction, upholding Japan’s pattern-making heritage as a true art form.

Beyond its Paris-runway lines, Comme des Garçons has dominated 21st-century streetwear with a more accessible range. Wearing it signals an understanding of fashion, of Rei, and everything CdG stands for.

Launched in 2002 and originally designed by Rei Kawakubo herself, Comme des Garçons PLAY is known for its playful, timeless aesthetic, anchored by the now-iconic heart-with-eyes logo created by Polish artist Filip Pagowski. Some say the logo represents Rei’s spirit and expression, though Pagowski claims it was a spontaneous proposal that became the brand’s visual identity.

PLAY’s success has led to collaborations with Converse, Coca-Cola, Matt Groening, and other cult creatives.

Today, Comme des Garçons remains a brand in constant reinvention. In a landscape saturated with trends and algorithms, Rei Kawakubo’s radical spirit urges us to feel before we understand, and that feels more relevant than ever. Because in her own words: “Not designing is also a form of design.”