F A L L

The magic of this season's Comme des Garcons show, for me, was the way Rei Kawakubo presented garments that were so extremely deconstructed, but made soft, not only through some of the material choices (Kawakubo apparently used her personal collection of vintage scarves to create some of the looks) but also through the detailing. Chunks of different garments elegantly held together by a ribbon bow. Extra bows also appeared on the tops of shoes, but not in an Adidas Originals kind of way, in a much more sophisticated way, that seemed to reference bow ties of garcons rather than Minnie Mouse.



SO SOFT! I would never ever have imagined such intense deconstuction could be broken down by the application of a single strong bow. THe positioning of the bow is just perfect too, as is the chiffon back, which immediately sends my brain rushing back to the ghost coast and sausage dresses of FW09, possibly the collection I am most obsessed with.
Note the exceptionally manly detailing of the trousers. These could be any man's work trousers, until you see the whole look and realise they are short shorts. I think this is the whole looks actually here due to the leather edge you can see in the detail....which is INSANE! FLOOR LENGTH CROC-SKIN TRENCH COAT APRON! WHAT?


Almost the complete inverse of the strong black coats fastened with ribbons, the strip of scarf coming down from the right shoulder to beneath the left arm looks buckled, but is just clever print arrangement, and adds a slight toughness to the scrappy femininity of the dress constructed entirely of scarves. So Comme!


THis looks was interesting because it could almost have been taken from the men's collection from the same season.....but somehow it works better here. (I am sad to say i actually hated Comme des Garcons menswear fw11/12....surely some individual pieces will be great, but overall, the show really threw me...I am, ironically, aware that this is the purpose of the avant-garde, for whom Kawakubo remains a Patron Saint.


I love the way the the fabric feels like it almost tied itself in knots of the right, wriggling and undulating into frills and irregular pleats between the knotted clusters. The peek hole to the back is just beyond! so subtle! i wish more men's pieces would embrace the back, there is nothing more amazing than seeing someone's spine.



The softness reapperas in the way the fabrics are overlaid and put together, left slightly loose, not pulled taught to create soft waves rather than strong lines. The loose tailoring on the shoulder and sleeve carry through the effect. You can imagine how mesemerising it would be to see all these elements in motion.



Extra shoe lace bows on the front of shoes. Reminds me a little the Comme Des Garcons Shirt Homme x Heschung men's shoes.