March 8, 2026 |
“Black is the colour for me,” said Rei Kawakubo in a statement. “It’s just the strongest, the best for creation and the colour that embodies the rebellious spirit. And has the biggest meaning: the universe and the black hole.”
For her Comme Des Garçons show, she sent out a symphony of black looks, putting the focus on silhouette and texture. The fabrics were rich: silk, velvet, lace and jacquard, all manipulated into voluminous ruched cascades which undulated over the body in great curving swathes. It looked unquestionably feminine. One dress had a jutting pannier skirt made of the shoulder pads of jackets shrouded in chiffon, another had a lampshade-style wired skirt others resembled urns or hour glasses. Some silhouettes grew bulbous lumps and bumps, others were cinched, like presents by green or red ribbons. But despite the girlie frills and swags it felt serious, almost funereal. The models walked on wooden platform boots, taking slow, stately steps as if they were attending a ceremonial event.
Then all a sudden, the stirring soundtrack by Ugo Nardini, stopped and a parade of six Peptobismol pink looks came out in silence. This gaiety of the looks contrasted with the seriousness of the presentation.
A Comme show can feel like going to church. Many worship on the alter of its avant garde creativity. Kawakubo puts her heart and soul into her work. Nothing is held back. What you see is the purest expression of her creativity. It’s uncompromising but also unknowable. She’s said in the past she isn’t interested in the meanings others attribute to her work. All she cares about is that it does what she needs it to do and goes some way toward satisfying her pathological need to challenge herself to create something new. She doesn’t care what you think, but her work does make you think.
The music started again as Kawakubo went back to black for the final series of imposing silhouettes. Perhaps it was the dignity of the presentation, the elegiac soundtrack or the funereal black of the clothes but many were visibly moved by the show. “It made me think about everyone I’ve ever lost,” said one emotional attendee afterwards. Bitter sweet.
Photography courtesy of Comme des Garçons.
