In her spring collection for Comme des Garçons, Rei Kawakubo made a delightfully bright proposal: Red. Red, red and more red. As she noted backstage, it is the color of “blood and roses.” So what better way to greet the season of rebirth than with the shade of a healthy platelet count?
Kawakubo kept her silhouettes generous with much detail, and showed a particular affinity for bound arms. Yet there was plenty of diversity in the mix of materials and textures — thin, thick, piled, flat, slick, glistening and enough high gloss to rival the auto show.
These were arranged in intricate 3-D pilings, ruffled, corded, tiered and puffed up with padding like giant swirly pincushions or overinjected lips. Some were all aflutter, some strapped into place, some stiffened into fanciful sculptural looks.
Within her theme, Kawakubo offered enough range to appeal to all kinds of girls. Relaxed, easy-going girls will love the show opener: an unconstructed spill of shredded fabric adorned here, there and everywhere with big red stuck-on roses. Girly girls with sinus problems — the big-collared coat with countless tacked-on lace and metallic hankies is for you. Girls who love a little Christmas right this very minute will favor the tree-shaped number in graduated tiers of something in the plastic/pleather range held together by what appeared to be plastic cords. And girls with a sense of humor will be the life of the party in a giant clown suit with mismatched triangle pant legs. You’re thinking it all sounds too heavy for spring? To the contrary. These clothes ship in February. Kawakubo took a savvy wear-now approach to the season.
You May Also Like
Accessories were used judiciously with maximum impact. No mundane bag-of-the-moment here. Kawakubo’s statement extra is the hood, big and pointy and available in three variations: quilted, weatherproof and executioner (red, clear plastic, black).
For evening, it takes a certain je ne sais quoi to craft a party dress from something resembling a pile of giant linguini painted red. But it worked and will look divine on the dance floor.