Rei Kawakubo Overview

Rei Kawakubo is an avant-garde fashion designer, artist, and founder of the label Comme des Garcons. Originally trained in fine arts, Kawakubo turned her attention to fashion and established her label in 1973. In 1983, Kawakubo and Comme des Garcons showed... [more]

Rei Kawakubo is an avant-garde fashion designer, artist, and founder of the label Comme des Garcons. Originally trained in fine arts, Kawakubo turned her attention to fashion and established her label in 1973. In 1983, Kawakubo and Comme des Garcons showed their collection in Paris to rave reviews. Her unstructured, deconstructed, monochromatic garments caused a sensation and had a profound impact on avant garde dressing in the eighties. Kawakubo often seems more artist than fashion designer; through her runway collections she challenges our cultural conceptions of beauty in fascinating ways. She has also helped nurture the talent of other budding Japanese fashion designers; both Junya Watanabe and Undercover's Jun Takahashi have been associated with the Comme des Garcons company early in their careers. In addition to her often challenging runway fashion; Kawakubo has collaborated with more mainstream companies as well. She has designed lines of swimwear for Speedo, and in 2008 designed a capsule collection for H&M. [show less]