In 2014 Rei Kawakubo, founder and creative director of Japanese-based avant-garde fashion house Comme des Garçons, made a powerful declaration, that after over forty years of designing radical, forward-thinking ready-to-wear the Tokyo native would be abandoning clothing to focus on creating “objects for the body”. This move away from traditional forms of dress was never more evident than within the ‘garments’ Kawakubo presented for fall/winter 2017.
This season, the designer focused on addressing ‘the future of silhouette’ through a variety of bulbous looks, some even with no armholes, in exaggeratedly ‘out there’ proportions. Kawakubo largely abandoned the use of traditional fabrics this season, instead using brown packing paper, silver insulation material, and recycled fabric waste in their place. As typical, Kawakubo worked with hair magician Julien d’Ys to create accompanying object for each models’ head. This season d’Ys rendered similarly unpredictable rounded forms out of steel wool, completing Kawakubo’s ‘far out’ vision to absolute perfection.
References
- 1
- 2
Elizabeth Taylor
Doctor Faustus, 1967
Louise Bourgeois
Wearing a latex cast of her work “Avenza,” 1975
Frank Gehry
American Center in Paris, France, 1994
Ernesto Neto
Follicle Ovoid (Nicky), 1998
Ron Arad
Big Easy Volume 2 Sofa, 1988
Edward Weston
Peperone, 1929
Ilse Fehling
Globular Stage for Puppets, 1920-21
Oskar Schlemmer
The Triadic Ballet, 1922
Ernesto Neto
Humanoids
Salvador Dali
Costume designs for “Le Ballet Des Vendangeurs” (The Grape Pickers' Ballet), 1953
Guy Bourdin
Silver Ringlets
Anish Kapoor
My Red Homeland, 2003
Gunnar Aagaard Andersen
Armchair, 1964
Irving Penn
Nude No. 100, New York, 1949/50
Irving Penn
Nude No. 105, New York, 1949/50
Jean Cocteau
La Révolte des Équipages (The Revolt of the Crews), from “Opium: Journal d’une Désintoxication,” 1919
Louise Bourgeois
The Couple, 2003
Louise Bourgeois
Untitled, 1998
Lygia Pape's performance “Divisor”
Restaged in Hong Kong, 1968
Natsuyuki Nakanishi
Rhyme-S, 1960
Peter Agostini
Cage II, 1967
References
Elizabeth Taylor
Doctor Faustus, 1967
1 of 21
Louise Bourgeois
Wearing a latex cast of her work “Avenza,” 1975
2 of 21
Frank Gehry
American Center in Paris, France, 1994
3 of 21
Ernesto Neto
Follicle Ovoid (Nicky), 1998
4 of 21
Ron Arad
Big Easy Volume 2 Sofa, 1988
5 of 21
Edward Weston
Peperone, 1929
6 of 21
Ilse Fehling
Globular Stage for Puppets, 1920-21
7 of 21
Oskar Schlemmer
The Triadic Ballet, 1922
8 of 21
Ernesto Neto
Humanoids
9 of 21
Salvador Dali
Costume designs for “Le Ballet Des Vendangeurs” (The Grape Pickers' Ballet), 1953
10 of 21
Guy Bourdin
Silver Ringlets
11 of 21
Anish Kapoor
My Red Homeland, 2003
12 of 21
Gunnar Aagaard Andersen
Armchair, 1964
13 of 21
Irving Penn
Nude No. 100, New York, 1949/50
14 of 21
Irving Penn
Nude No. 105, New York, 1949/50
15 of 21
Jean Cocteau
La Révolte des Équipages (The Revolt of the Crews), from “Opium: Journal d’une Désintoxication,” 1919
16 of 21
Louise Bourgeois
The Couple, 2003
17 of 21
Louise Bourgeois
Untitled, 1998
18 of 21
Lygia Pape's performance “Divisor”
Restaged in Hong Kong, 1968
19 of 21
Natsuyuki Nakanishi
Rhyme-S, 1960
20 of 21
