THE JOURNAL
The keen eyes among you will have noticed the return of COMME DES GARÇONS to MR PORTER. First launched in 1969 by the pioneering Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo, the brand – French for “like the boys” – added a menswear line nine years later. Another half a century on, it’s still pushing style forward.
“COMME DES GARÇONS is one of the most important brands in history,” says the Japan-based journalist Ashley Ogawa Clarke. “Every fashion nerd knows that no living designer has changed how we think about clothes more than Rei Kawakubo. Wildly creative, but also extremely switched on to what people actually want to wear, her roster of in-house labels slot into pretty much any wardrobe, but always bring the personality.”
What can perhaps be confusing for newcomers is the sheer number of diffusion lines that fall under the COMME DES GARÇONS umbrella – somewhere north of a dozen at last count. Here’s the skinny on the three sub-lines arriving on MR PORTER.
COMME DES GARÇONS HOMME
Launched by Kawakubo in 1978, the mainline menswear collection is now helmed by her protégé, Junya Watanabe. “Easy menswear staples – shirts, cotton trousers, striped T-shirts, denim jackets – they’re the pieces you can fill your wardrobe with and be safe in the knowledge that you will be reliably better dressed than the next guy,” Ogawa Clarke says. “Not to be confused with Homme Plus, which puts on the menswear runways in Paris twice a year.”
COMME DES GARÇONS SHIRT
“SHIRT is all about exploring the endless ways of interpreting the button-up shirt,” Ogawa Clarke says. “A good example of how working with restraints can often spark greater creativity. The result is shirts that are often smart and office-appropriate, but at the same time are never overly conservative.”
The line doesn’t exclusively do shirts, although that is the focus. And its shirts don’t always resemble a traditional one, with the output often pushing the form in terms of proportion and fabric.
Junya Watanabe
The head designer at COMME DES GARÇONS HOMME has also run his own namesake line since 1992. The brand is known for innovative shapes, drapes and materials – pioneering the use of technical fabrics in high-end fashion.
“Watanabe has been working with Kawakubo for four decades,” Ogawa Clarke says. “Working a lot with classic workwear and menswear, he’s a master at twisting things just enough to make them interesting while still keeping them realistic. Also, these are the kind of clothes that will look incredible whether you’re 17 or 70.”