Fashion By Rei Kawakubo

1873 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: What is the impact of change in the fashion industry

THE BEGINNING AND THE FAME

COMME des GARÇONS is a fashion label established by Rei Kawakubo in 1969 in Tokyo. It is incorporated in 1973 as COMME des GARÇONS Co. Ltd and is headed by Kawakubo even till this day.

After studying fine arts and literature at Keio University and working in a textile company as well as being freelance stylist till 1967, Kawakubo decided to establish COMME des GARÇONS because she wanted liberty. She needed somewhere where she could be independent to translate her thoughts into clothing without meddling from financial bankers. That was one of her motivations and remains one today. When it was established, Kawakubo designed the typeface for the logo despite having little background in design.

COMME des GARÇONS means “like the boys” in French. As noted by Hamish Bowles in 1993, it was “chosen for its euphony but it proved ironically apt for designs that challenged the conventional feminine ideal.”

That was how COMME des GARÇONS found fame. In 1975, when she opened her first boutique, Kawakubo stated explicitly that she is catering to women who are not swayed by what their husbands think.

Under the label, Kawakubo also crafted runway pieces that challenged the conventions of fashion and beauty. The pieces were so unique that they had no resemblance to anything that has been done before. Designer Hiroyuki Horihata told W magazine that all Kawakubo wanted to do was to “make clothes that nobody has ever seen” and that she wanted extreme beauty.

While she won plenty of praises, the extreme beauty that Kawakubo was striving for also created a lot of backlash at that time because people were used to seeing elegant pieces by Chanel, in contrast to Kawakubo’s deconstructed and anti-fashion pieces.

The ...

... middle of paper ...

... brand will be able to maintain its identity and stay afloat if something unfortunate were to happen to her.

Perhaps it is time for Kawakubo to be defiant to herself and let COMME des GARÇONS slowly develop a brand identity that is less reliant on her existence but more on her principles.

“OUR SERVICE AND DISPLAY AT THE SHOPS AS WELL AS THE CLOTHES THEMSELVES SHOW OUR ATTITUDE AND COMETIMES REFLECT OUT CURRENT BUSINESS POLICY. OPENING THE SHOP DOORS WIDE FOR ALL SORTS OF PEOPLE TO BUY THE CLOTHES IS ONE WAY OF DOING BUSINESS BUT I WANT THE SHOPS TO BE COMFORTABLE FOR THOSE WHO LIKE COMME des GARÇONS. THE SHOP SPACE, ALONG WITH THE CLOTHES, SHOULD PRESENT SOMETHING. HAVING SHOPS ON THE BACK STREETS OF OFF THE AREAS FOR FASHION BOUTIQUES IS ONE THING, FOR EXAMPLE. RECENTLY, I DON’T THINK THAT GOOD SERVICE MEANS OFFERING A WIDE RANGE OF PRODUCTS.”

—REI KAWAKUBO

Show More
Related

  • Chanel Design:The Little Black Dress

    633 Words  | 2 Pages

    Creator Coco Chanel was born Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel in 1883 in the Loire Valley, France. Her mother expired when she was six years old, the youthful Chanel was sent to the orphan house of the Catholic religious community of Aubazine, where she studied the skills of a seamstress. When she turned 18, she left the shelter, and started working for a neighborhood tailor.1 It was during a short stint as an artist in joints and show corridors that Gabrielle embraced the name Coco. World War I directed her to move to the resort town of Deauvile, it was here that she began outlining and making caps as a redirection, which then transformed into a business venture. She was ready to open her own particular millinery shop in Paris in 1910 and she soon had boutiques in both Deauville and Biarritz. By the 1920s, Maison Chanel was secured at 31, rue Cambon in Paris (which remains its headquarters right up 'til the present time) and turn into a style force to be associated with. Chanel turned into a style symbol herself with her striking weave hair styling and tan, setting her at the cutting edge of modern style. Her new accumulation of designs was applauded by the press in Europe, and was a big success in the United States.2

    Read More

  • A Woman’s Paradise on Earth: The Rise of the Department Store

    2034 Words  | 5 Pages

    The department stores changed the way women were viewed both in society and by each other because they became “modern women” rather than the “traditional women” that they’d been seen as before. In his novel, The Ladies’ Paradise by Emile Zola published in 1883, Zola said that the department store was a “giant fairground display, as if the shop was bursting and throwing its surplus stock out into the street” (Zola, and Nelson 5). The department store in Zola’s novel was based on Le Bon Marche, founded by Aristide Boucicaut in 1838 and it became the most famous department store in Paris. By 1852, Le Bon Marche or “the good market” offered a wide variety of goods under one roof that were sold at fixed prices, low markup and there was a guarantee for exchanges, and refunds. The department store was known for selling goods at fixed prices and even the store workers were given a “percentage on the smallest bit of material, the smallest article they sold: a system which had caused a revolution in the drapery trade by creating among the assistants a struggle for survival from which the employers reaped the benefit” (Zola, and Nelson 35).

    Read More

  • Fashion and Women?s Movements in the Past Century

    1669 Words  | 4 Pages

    The future of women’s fashion is uncertain—in that shock value is harder to come by with each passing year. There is a concept in fashion that nothing is new, everything has been done before. This theory is coming closer to obvious reality, as fashion shows of recent years have visual throwbacks as late as the Victorian era. Although the direction is not yet decided, it is almost definite that women will use fashion as an important tool for expression and freedom in the future.

    Read More

  • Gabrielle Chanel Research Paper

    1153 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gabrielle Chanel remains one of the most well-known fashion designers of all time. She was born on August 19, 1883 in France and died in 1971. Chanel revolutionized the fashion industry with her distinctive style. After the death of her mother, she spent much of her childhood in an orphanage. The challenges of her early life helped build her strong character which influenced her path in life. Chanel was nicknamed “Coco” after a lost dog in a popular song she loved to sing. Her early career was funded by a succession of her rich lovers. This allowed her to open her first shop in Paris in 1910. She sold hats as well as some garments. Coco developed a significant following of clientele who enjoyed her practical sportswear creating great success.

    Read More

  • Fashion In France: The History Of Fashion

    1059 Words  | 3 Pages

    Fashion is richly embedded in the history and culture in France. The country is the home of many famous designers, and is credited with creating the concepts haute couture and prêt-à-porter; two core segments of the fashion industry. Today Paris, Milan, London, and New York are the “Big Four” fashion capitals in the world. While France is well known to be the oldest fashion empire in the world, with expansion of the industry, is it still considered the leader?

    Read More

  • Hubert de Givenchy

    1111 Words  | 3 Pages

    Givenchy’s love for fashion grew when at the age of ten he attended the Pavillon d’ Elegance Paris Exposition. Once looking through Vogue magazine, he was inspired by Balenciaga men’s wear. He wanted to be a couturier and attended Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, to start a formal education in fashion. His designing inspirations came from Elsa Schiaparelli and Madam Gres’s work. His experience also came from working at the House of Piguet in Paris; this salon was known for its dramatic yet simple style and after, at the House of Lelong that was known for their high quality clothing. Those positions gave him knowledge on how to work with couture customers and gave him an opportunity to build strong relationships with them (Press, 2002).

    Read More

  • Haute Couture Influences Ready-to-wear

    1898 Words  | 4 Pages

    Fashion has been around ever since ancient times, since the time of the Romans, it survived the world wars and is yet today a business with rapid changes. Fashion started off as an art form, a way for the riches to show their social status with unique and innovative designs that only they could afford. It was a way to separate the social classes of the society. In this paper I will include the creator of haute couture, and how the following designers developed couture, as well as having leading names in today’s ready-to-wear industry. The list is long, but I chose to focus on the three most important designers of the modern fashion industry.

    Read More

  • How The Qing Dynasty Changed China's Fashion

    1288 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Qing dynasty changed China’s history, and influenced China’s fashion everlastingly. But what is it about these clothing designs that is so alluring? Why is it that costume and fashion designers

    Read More

  • The Impacts of Fast Fashion and Technology on the Fashion Industry

    1432 Words  | 3 Pages

    Haute couture can be referenced back as early as the 1700s. Rose Bertin, the French fashion designer to Queen Marie Antoinette, can be credited for bringing fashion and haute couture to French culture. French leadership in European fashion continued into the 18th century when influence was sourced from art, architecture, music, and fashions of the French court at Versailles were imitated across Europe. Visitors to Paris brought back clothing that was then copied by local dressmakers. Stylish women also ordered fashion dolls dressed in the latest Parisian fashion to serve as models.

    Read More

  • The Life of Coco Chanel

    1593 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Elegance is not the prerogative of those who have just escaped from adolescence, but of those who have already taken possession of their future “(Elegance par. 1). Chanel was a woman who was always seen wearing her own unique fashion. She would never be seen wearing something society would see as something a normal woman would wear; this made her unforgettable (Charles-Roux 5-6). In the beginning, Chanel was only known for creating and designing hats, but she would soon be known for so much more (Charles-Roux 91). Because of Chanel’s new bold ideas, the women’s fashion industry has forever been changed (Charles-Roux 6).

    Read More

  • The Fashion Revolution in France

    1465 Words  | 3 Pages

    Fashion plays an important role in the lives of billions all over the world; people, as part of a status craving society, turn to “fashion capitals” of the world for ways in which to dress and carry themselves. New York, Milan, and Paris are leaders among this fierce industry that the world lusts after. Fashion can speak volumes about ones personality, or also about the condition the world is in at the time. In France, fashion changed rapidly and feverously as the times changed.

    Read More

  • The Surrealist Movement in Art's Influence on Fashion

    1538 Words  | 4 Pages

    This essay aims to analyse the key role that the surrealist movement has played on fashion and the fashion industry. Both from a historical point of view, as well as its continued impact on fashion today, as a source of inspiration for contemporary fashion designers.

    Read More

  • Designer Apparel Market in Australia

    1191 Words  | 3 Pages

    The designer apparel market is extremely competitive and as a result companies are becoming more strategic in their marketing approach to compete with other brands. For example, companies have considered collaborating with other designer brands to produce luxury designs at affordable prices such as Sass & Bide collaborated with Havaiana and together they created a limited edition of thongs. Furthermore, there is a lot of competition when it comes to price harmonization as local retailers are encountered with pressure from consumers due to the differences in international prices. Therefore, it is evident that the designer apparel market is competitive and companies need to take action in order to compete and be successful. (Euromonitor International, 2014a)

    Read More

  • Fashion is an Art

    1515 Words  | 4 Pages

    Clothing has been around for thousands of years; almost as long as the modern human has. At first, it served the practical purpose of protection from the elements; but, as life for early humans stopped being a constant struggle to survive, they started noticing how they looked and the concept of fashion began to take shape. These first few garments were typically dyed draped cloth that was pinned at the shoulder and/or waist. This was seen in many ancient civilizations around the world, Greek and Roman the most notable. Over time, clothing began to get more and more complex and formed to the body’s shape, eventually leading up to the tailored style we now have today. However, the sophisticated world of Haute Couture; or high fashion, can distinctly trace its roots to Paris during the mid-19th century. Clothing from there was thought to be superior to those from anywhere else, and women began to come from all over Europe just to buy dresses. This was probably due in part to one notable dressm...

    Read More

  • Opportunities In The Fashion Industry Essay

    996 Words  | 2 Pages

    Designer collaborations have become the popular tend for retailers and consumers. The designers are able to use the partner’s procedures of business to its benefits such as their merchants, funds and advertising plans. They are able to influence a different demographic and broader customer based through the store’s marketing operations. This is the impeccable opportunity for the designer to form a devoted fan base who cannot afford the real thing to become aware and fall in love with the brand. Customers are conveyed into believe that they need to buy pieces from designer collaboration now because of the popularity for limited time. For instance, H&M is able to draw labels like Balmain because of its winning record of accomplishment. The profits go both ways. Nonetheless, a collaboration with H&M can offer a quick cash for a steadily growing luxury label like Balmain, with yearly sales of just over $34 million. Balmain x H&M pieces are not Balmain pieces, which can often sell for thousands of dollars. However, for a luxury brand like Balmain, the secret to built-up needs occurs in the pressure between being observable and highly limited at the same time. The designer’s objective was to give the H&M customer spending $300 the same feeling and familiarity of a Balmain customer spending

    Read More

More about Fashion By Rei Kawakubo

Open Document