Wonderwood

My apologies for harping on about Comme Des Garcons, it's hard not to, but I just came across this short film by the Quay brothers which coincides with the release of the new CDC fragrance Wonderwood. The creepy puppet voyeurism is oddly mesmerising and disconcerting. I'm not sure if I like it but it does make me want to see what the fragrance smells like- if only to see what would inspire a film like this-so I suppose it works.

Dress Becomes Body

I recently posted about a Pierre Huyghe exhibition which questioned the boundaries and limitations we place on on space and objects. This got me to thinking about the concept behind Commes des Garcons' infamous S/S 1997 collection- often referred to as the "lumps and bumps" collection. My tutor advised me to check out the range after seeing some of my own somewhat "lumpy" designs and I think it's absolutely amazing.

Rei Kawakubo's philosophy for the range was Body meets Dress. Dress meets Body. Dress becomes Body. This questions the threshold between dress and our bodies- each one shapes the other so how is it possible to differentiate them? (image below from Caroline Evans, 2003, Fashion at the Edge: Spectacle, Modernity and Deathliness, Yale University Press, New Haven, p268)

(bottom two images from http://fagcity.blogspot.com/2009/10/lumps-and-bumps.html)

Comme des Garçons S/S 2010

The last spring/summer collection for Comme des Garçons was an intense exploration of tailoring and deconstructionist fashion. The pastiche of fabrics, silhouettes and unconventional, almost erratic, placement of traditional detailing just begs references to Frankenstein. Like the monster himself these pieces were constructed from known garments, but in their reconstruction they lose all sense of their original form and proportions. It's a somewhat perverse way of looking at fashion, which is why the results are so confusing and beautiful at the same time. It's also just one of the many reasons why Rei Kawakubo is entirely without comparison. (images from style.com)






These artworks were created for LOVE magazine and reflect the cut and paste nature of the collection, along with the strong focus on tailored jackets. Throughout the collection there are ironic references to the shoulder pads which swept the fashion world into a flurry of statement shoulders and Pierre Cardin style blazers. However as Sarah Mower from style.com noted, the wry inclusion of these elements suggest that Rei Kawakubo was not only declaring the trend well and truly over but subtly mocking the fervour with which it was adopted. Head to style.com to see the whole collection. (images by Rei Kawakubo for LOVE magazine, Issue 3, Spring/Summer2010, pp 88-89)