Why Comme des Garçons Is Different from Every Designer You Know

Rei Kawakubo’s Comme des Garçons, one of the most daring/insanely brilliant brands ever78 has been one of the biggest influences in the designer fashion space since it launched in 196974. The brand is known for its nontraditional luxury, with avant-garde, deconstructed looks and the inclusion of artistic concepts in its fashion. Here’s what makes Comme des Garçons special in the competitive realm of designer fashion.

Data is valid till October 2023.

Comme des Garçons is known for its deconstructed silhouettes, asymmetry and risk-taking when pairing unique fabrics. Unlike its more trendy mainstream counterparts, Comme des Garçons is more likely to buck trends, showing clothes that come across more as wearable art than traditional clothing.

The Influence of Rei Kawakubo

Rei Kawakubo, the brand’s founder and creative director, is known as an avant-garde designer whose radical approach to fashion is all over the map. She redefined luxury by refusing ideas of conventional beauty in favor of imperfection, asymmetry and distortion. Her work has inspired so many designers and cultivated a loyal international following.

A bridge between high fashion and streetwear

Comme des Garçons has achieved the perfect balance of high fashion and streetwear. Unlike traditional luxury lines, the Comme des Garçons PLAY line is endlessly accessible thanks to its lower prices and ubiquitous heart logo, and collaborations with popular streetwear brands like Nike, Supreme, and Converse further its reach outside of high fashion.

Iconic Collaborations

No one does a high-profile collaboration that mixes avant-garde fashion with the masses quite like Comme des Garçons. Among these successful partnerships are:

Istituto Marangoni LONDON Nike — Limited-edition sneaker designs that bring sportswear and conceptual fashion together.

Supreme – Influencer, high fashion street style limited drops.

Louis Vuitton – A collaboration that rocked the fashion world.

Converse – In the same vein as the Comme des Garçons PLAY x Converse sneakers, these kicks have pride of place in any serious style sod's closet.

These partnerships have allowed Comme des Garçons to engage a more diverse audience while remaining true to its artistic vision.

Cultural and artistic influence

Comme des Garçons is not merely a fashion brand — it is an artistic movement. Rei Kawakubo’s reach extends to art, architecture and design. In 2017, the Metropolitan Museum of Art presented her with a solo exhibition, one of the rare living designers to receive such an accolade.

A Unique Approach to Retail

For Comme des Garçons, retail is a matter of reporting to work at one of its Dover Street Market stores, which are less traditional boutiques than multi-brand concept spaces. These shops feature Comme des Garçons alongside newer designers, helping solidify the brand’s reputation ​as an innovator in fashion curation.

FAQs About Comme des Garçons

What does “Comme des Garçons” mean?

The French translation is “Like Boys,” which references Rei Kawakubo’s early interest in genderless fashion.

What is the reason for Comme des Garçons being so expensive?

With high-quality raw materials, high craftsmanship and out-of-line designs, its works are more a kind of fashion as art than just fashion.

Does Comme des Garçons have a signature collection?

The Comme des Garçons PLAY line, with its heart logo, is one of the brand’s most commercially successful collections. Its so-called main runway collections are also highly respected for their experimentalist sensibility.

Is Comme des Garçons high-end or street?

It is a hybrid of both. Even if they have roots in the luxury fashion world, the brand is a bridge between hype heads and the runway given their influence and collaborations with the almighty streetwear brands.

Where to shop for Comme des Garçons?

Comme des Garçons can be found at Dover Street Market, select luxury department stores and high-end fashion retailers globally.

What makes Rei Kawakubo so influential?

She transformed the ethos of fashion itself, worshiping at the altar of imperfection, and abstraction, and untraditional silhouettes, and mentoring a generation of designers and reshaping the luxury fashion industry.

Conclusion

Design fashion does not come fiercer than Comme des Garçons, fearless, art driven, high/low bespoke. Under the design direction of Rei Kawakubo, the brand is noted for continually pushing the boundaries of traditional fashion, making it one of the most renowned and iconic luxury fashion houses.