Ensemble

Comme des Garçons|Rei Kawakubo|Stephen Jones

fall/winter 2007–8 · (a, b) synthetic, (c, d) leather, (e) silk, synthetic · Costume Institute

Rei Kawakubo's fall/winter 2007-8 collection adopted the surrealist strategies of unexpected distortions of scale and uncanny displacements. The ambience was set for a show of sweetness and innocence, accessorized with Minnie Mouse hats and padded decorations like those seen on a baby pillow or a lingerie bag. But, as it is Commes des Garçons, the childlike flourishes of little-girl dresses appliquéd on the front of longer garments had a destabilizing effect. Like Alice's disorientation in Wonderland, the viewer at a Commes des Garçons presentation is left feeling that first impressions are never valid, for even an apparent prettiness can mask deeper, subliminal complexities. When the series of ensembles with padded hand motifs appeared, the ostensible playfulness of the gesture paradoxically precipitated the kind of momentary disquiet that a Schiaparelli/Dalí collaboration has never provoked.

Artist

Comme des Garçons|Rei Kawakubo|Stephen Jones

Date

fall/winter 2007–8

Medium

(a, b) synthetic, (c, d) leather, (e) silk, synthetic

Culture

Japanese

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Gift of Comme des Garcons, 2007