March 4, 2018 |
Here is where we are at: “Many things in the world have not been named; and many things, even if they have been named, have never been described. One of these is the sensibility – unmistakably modern, a variant of sophistication but hardly identical with it – that goes by the cult name of ‘Camp’,” wrote Susan Sontag in 1964. And so it was that the Comme Des Garçons Autumn/ Winter 18 collection was a deep dive in to the world of Camp, a sensibility that we much love and appreciate. Camp here, in the hands of Rei Kawakubo was an exploration of total unbounded exuberance, an abundance, an electric wonderland of colours, frothiness, a face framing ‘flower’, layers of petticoats, full skirts kicking out.
Collapsed love hearts, sweeties, and incredible layers of tartan, tulle, crackling with gold. A resolved riot of ideas. Topsy turvy. It was like a chorus line of Camp; Betty Boop coyly peeking out, Bo Peep hoods, and a mille feuille of flowers and raw remnants piled into an amazing look, cocooning as a jacket perhaps, a mystery something to be explored, like the best Comme always is. As Sontag said “…the essence of Camp is its love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration. And Camp is esoteric – something of a private code, a badge of identity even, among small urban cliques.” We like then that CDG is exploring it, pushing further and giving voice to progress.
