A new exhibition will descend on the National Gallery of Victoria this Thursday. The exhibition is set to showcase over 65 outfits by Rei Kawakubo — the master behind the groundbreaking label Comme des Garçons.
The free exhibition features items drawn from over 40 collections — including the galleries own. Significant items were donated by ‘Commes tragic’ Takamasa Takahashi, who has been collecting Commes since 1986.
The collection will explore Kawakubo’s work from her debut presentation in Paris in 1981, and subsequent work through the ’80s and ’90s — “highlighting the experimental approach to construction and form, which produced the singular oversized and asymmetrical garments for which Comme des Garçons is revered.”
Additionally, there will be designs by two of Kawakubo’s protégés, Junya Watanabe and Tao Kurihara.
“It’s not about wearability. It’s about the challenge of creativity, it’s about defining what is beautiful. And [Kawakubo] managed every season to create something completely different,” Takahashi told Financial Review.
On his decision to donate the collection to the museum, Takahashi mused “I wanted to do something with the clothes, keep them, but I didn’t know why.
“But I think donating them to the NGV has been the right thing. Because they can preserve them for future generations, and study them, and keep them for young fashion students. And if someone can be inspired by the collection to create something new and beautiful, then I would be very happy.”
Find all the relevant details below.
Collecting Commes
NGV International
Level 3, Contemporary Art & Design
31 Oct 19 – 26 Jul 20
Open 10am–5pm daily
