Rei Kawakubo is called – and rightly so – the designer of designers.
In today’s article we take a dive into her world!
A pure-blooded Japanese woman, born in Tokyo in 1942, she originally studied fine arts and literature and
began her career as a stylist in 1967.
A few years later she opened her first boutique, creating for the first time the label “Comme des Garçons“.
(translation “like boys”) in 1973.
There she designed her first women’s patterns, but in 1978 she incorporated a men’s line.
She quickly managed to set up several stores in her country under this name,
which motivated her to create her first boutique in Paris in 1982.
The design diversity of Rei Kawakubo
She started to emerge creatively while remaining a fanatic of black with occasional flashes of white and grey.
This is the colour palette in which almost all of her collections during the 80s move.
Early on she understood her design diversity, creating lines without any strictness between the two sexes.
Her women’s collections seem innovative because they depart from the obvious feminine lines of chic elegance.
No part of the female body is emphasized, except for a few exceptions such as the waist.
From there, relaxation, comfort, long length and rich volume are pervasive.
What is definitely missing is the element of “sexy”, while what is dominant is a new truth about female identity,
away from stereotypical rules and close to a strong empowerment.
There is a hidden influence from Japanese culture, but with many modernized elements, such as punk-rock trends.
Rei Kawakubo’s creative “vagrancy” is evident in 90’s fashion in an unpretentious, confident and intensely cool way. Each of her creations exudes a strong independence, far from regularities and constraints, everything else is boring and not at all intelligent.
The pronounced asymmetries, the overgrown tumours, the perforated surfaces allude to the feeling of survival after a catastrophe.
Innovation meets unconventionality and completes any notion of “against” without any guilt or hesitation.
The devilishly petite Japanese designer dared to later introduce bold colours in her collections
in the context of a more dynamic positioning.
What he never stops presenting are the oversized three-dimensional volumes, causing every viewer to wonder what and why.
Her unique acumen, apart from being artistic, is also highly entrepreneurial and this is evident from the successful experiments she has dared to pioneer.
The secret of success!
Airy and spirited, she does what she likes with great concentration and the result is so clearly authentic.
Without unnecessary frills, without self-promotion, Rei Kawakubo, 50 years now, is at the forefront of the avant-garde
but also of modernity in fashion through her works.
A genuine hardworking Japanese woman who evolves through the constancy of her talent with a strong belief in her own will.
Her creative generosity unfolds through her many collaborations that she ventures more and more as she grows.
He is rightfully among the leading reformers of modern fashion, inspiring younger generations without ceasing.
Despite her dark melancholy, her incomprehensible approach, the fashion world bows to her talent every time she allows it to dream of the next day without normative limits.
What is more liberating in what we call art in fashion.
She is the second living designer to be honored with the “Art of the In-Between” exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
in New York in 2017.
The first was Yves Saint Laurent in 1983.
Rei’s story, just like the story of Yayoi Kusama, which we talked about in a previous article,
is a lesson in how our dreams become so big that they no longer fit within the narrow confines of our daily lives,
are worth the extra effort.
Creating is a way of expression but not only that.
For some people it is a way of life, a form of existence and the imprint they leave on this world.
Find what it is for you and go after it with all your strength and effort!
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I kiss you,
Maria Dretaki
