Fashion Designers: Rei Kawakubo

Rei Kawakubo was born in Tokyo in 1942. She had no training as a fashion designer; instead, she was a student of fine art and philosophy. Her introduction to the fashion industry came after graduation, when she began working for a textile company. She started as a freelance fashion stylist in 1967, and eventually established her own company in 1973.

Comme des Garçons Ltd. was born in Tokyo as a women’s line. Several years later, Kawakubo added a men’s line and in 1980, she moved her company to Paris where she opened a studio and the first Commes des Garçons boutique. Kawakubo and her creative team have since returned to Tokyo, though she did show her ready-to-wear collection at Paris Fashion Week. She continues to show her ready-to-wear collection at Paris Fashion Week.

Cathy Horyn of the New York Times conducted an exclusive interview with Kawakubo, a woman of few words, in her notoriously secretive studio in Tokyo. The journalist explores the inner workings that make the many distinct brands and designers operating under the Comme des Garçons umbrella so successful.

In addition to cultivating the talent of the young designers working under the Comme des Garçons name, Rei Kawakubo has also developed an innovative marketplace to showcase their work. Dover Street Market (DSM) in London houses small boutique spaces for Comme des Garçons’ various lines plus those of an eclectic group of intelligent designers such as Gareth Pugh, Christopher Kane and Rodarte. “I would like for DSM to be the place where fashion becomes fascinating,” writes Kawakubo.

Let Tim Blanks take you through a video tour of DSM, the “epicenter of avant-garde fashion.”

Dover Street Market isn’t the only unconventional store concept Kawakubo has conceived. Since 2004, Comme des Garçons’ Guerrilla Stores have been popping up in the hippest up-and-coming areas of cities around the world. Established in unassuming spots like an old bank or a produce store, the novelty shops are only open for one year and use little advertising other than posters and word of mouth.