Muse Boards

Comme des Garçons F/W 2012

Art / Architecture / Design / Fashion

Comme des Garçons

Fall/ Winter 2012

In quintessential Kawakubo fashion, the Japanese designer took Comme des Garcons’s Fall/Winter 2012 collection as an opportunity to twist convention, turning the idea of ‘flatness’ into an opportunity to explore exaggerated silhouettes, volume, and dimension.

Posted December 9th, 2018 By Colby Mugrabi

The show began devoid of a soundtrack, save for the pitter-patter of velvety, high-heeled oxfords clicking down the runway.

Opening the collection, a set of candy colored, felted coats assembled in bright red, bubblegum pink, and electric blue, evoking a palette of bold simplicity. Graphics and patterns followed suit, as a slew of likeminded, felted ensembles covered in pop art camouflage, cheetah prints, polka-dots, and oversized hand-drawn flowers represented the progression of an idea on form, now with embellishment. Flowers were repeated throughout the collection, employed in a multiplicity of formats and mediums, while geometric cutouts added sensuality and dimension to the massive garments which otherwise overwhelmed the models’ tiny frames.

The collection had a paper-doll feel to it, playful by anyone’s standard – particularly that of Kawakubo – while the show’s lighthearted tonality was counterbalanced by the models’ robotic, emotionless movements, as the oversized garments hung on their bodies in rigid uniformity. Mid-show, a series of floral looks emerged entirely covering the body, from ankles to the top-of-head – matching floral masks included.

The later half of the show was a true embodiment of Kawakubo’s signature peculiarities; head-to-toe floral numbers accessorized with complimentary face-coverings, and coats with jagged collars and distorted, sharp arms, endearingly reminiscent of a child cutting and pasting pieces together. The collection concisely came to a head in the last five looks of the show; sequined, oversized doll dresses baring accentuated waists and outrageously rounded hips – an avant-garde interpretation of childhood