Comme des Garçons facts for kids
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| Public company | |
| Industry | Fashion |
| Founded | 1969 |
| Founder | Rei Kawakubo |
| Headquarters | Tokyo, Japan (de jure) Paris, France (de facto) |
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Key people
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Adrian Joffe CEO Junya Watanabe Designer Tao Kurihara Designer Kei Ninomiya Designer |
| Products | Apparel, accessories, perfumes |
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Number of employees
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800 est. (2011) |
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Comme des Garçons (pronounced "kom day gar-son") is a famous Japanese fashion brand. It was started by Rei Kawakubo in 1969. The company's main office is in Paris, France, where its biggest store is located. Besides clothes, Comme des Garçons also makes jewelry and perfumes.
The company shows its newest fashion collections during Paris Fashion Week. This is a big event where designers present their latest styles. In 2017, it was reported that the company and its related businesses made over $280 million in a year.
Contents
History of Comme des Garçons
The Comme des Garçons brand began in Tokyo, Japan, in 1969. It officially became a company in 1973. The name "Comme des Garçons" means "like the boys" in French. It was inspired by a line from a 1962 song by Françoise Hardy. The line was "like the boys and girls my age."
The brand became very popular in Japan during the 1970s. In 1978, they added a line of clothes for men. In 1981, Comme des Garçons had its first fashion show in Paris. Rei Kawakubo's designs often used black fabrics that looked worn or unfinished. Some fashion critics in France did not like these unusual styles at first.
Throughout the 1980s, the clothes were often seen as having a rough or punk-inspired look. In 1982, one of Kawakubo's collections was criticized for its unique appearance. Even though some experts disliked the styles, the brand continued to create unique designs through the 1990s.
In 1993, the company started its own line of perfumes. By 2004, Comme des Garçons divided its business. Handmade clothes were made in France, while other clothes were produced in Japan, Spain, and Turkey. The popular Play line, known for its heart-with-eyes logo, is mostly made in Japan, Spain, and Turkey.
Different Comme des Garçons Collections
Comme des Garçons has many different clothing lines. Each line often has its own special style or focus. Some lines are designed by Rei Kawakubo herself, while others are designed by talented people she has trained.
Collections by Rei Kawakubo
- Comme des Garçons – This is the main collection for women, started in 1969.
- Comme des Garçons Noir – This collection features women's clothes that are mostly black.
- Comme des Garçons Homme Plus – This is the main collection for men.
- Comme des Garçons Shirt – This line focuses mostly on shirts.
- Play Comme des Garçons – This is a popular casual line for younger men and women. It is known for its bug-eyed heart logo, designed by artist Filip Pagowski.
- CDG – This line offers modern streetwear and items with a new black and white CDG logo.
- BLACK Comme des Garçons – This line offers clothes for both men and women at a lower price. It started in 2008 and its products were often sold in temporary "pop-up" shops.
Collections by Other Designers
- Junya Watanabe Comme des Garçons – This is a women's clothing line designed by Junya Watanabe.
- Junya Watanabe Comme des Garçons Man – This is a men's clothing line also designed by Junya Watanabe.
- Tao Comme des Garçons – This women's line was launched by Tao Kurihara in 2005 and relaunched in 2021.
- Noir Kei Ninomiya – This women's line was launched in 2013 by Kei Ninomiya.
Accessories and Other Items
- Comme des Garçons Pearl – This line features jewelry.
- Comme des Garçons Parfum – This is the company's perfume line.
- Comme des Garçons Wallet – This line offers wallets and other small leather goods.
- Speedo Comme des Garçons – This was a special swimwear collection made with Speedo.
Unique Perfumes
The company also creates a range of agendered fragrances. These perfumes are often very different from traditional scents. They match the unique and artistic style of Comme des Garçons clothing.
The first Comme des Garçons perfume was released in 1994. In 1998, they launched an "anti-perfume" called Odeur 53. This perfume used a mix of 53 unusual scents, which was very new for the perfume world.
Adrian Joffe, who is the CEO of the company and Rei Kawakubo's husband, manages the perfume business. Some perfumes are licensed to another company called Puig, while Comme des Garçons sells others directly.
In 2014, the company released a unisex fragrance called G I R L. The bottle for this perfume was designed by the famous artist KAWS. In 2017, they launched a new fragrance called Concrete.
Fashion and Art Connections
Comme des Garçons clothes are designed in Tokyo, Japan. They are then made in Japan, France, Spain, and Turkey. Over the years, the company has often worked with artists and on cultural projects around the world.
For example, in 1997, their spring-summer collection featured clothes with fabric "lumps and bumps." This led to a special project with New York choreographer Merce Cunningham called Scenario. The 2006 autumn/winter collection explored the idea of a "persona," which is how people present themselves to the world. This collection mixed men's tailored clothes with feminine details like corsets and flower prints.
Comme des Garçons has also worked with other brands. These include Hammerthor, H&M, and Stüssy. Many famous people have worn Comme des Garçons or been inspired by the brand. For instance, the singer Björk wore the label in her music video for Isobel. The musician Frank Ocean even named a song after the company.
Exhibitions and Stores
Comme des Garçons has held several art and design exhibitions. In 1986, they showed photographs by Peter Lindbergh in Paris. In 2005, they had an exhibition in Tokyo about their advertising and graphic designs.
In 2010, the company opened a very large, six-story flagship store in Seoul, South Korea. This store also included a special art exhibition space.
In May 2017, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City held a major fashion exhibition. It was called "Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons Art of the In-Between." This exhibition showed many of Rei Kawakubo's unique designs.
Where to Find Comme des Garçons Stores
You can find Comme des Garçons stores in many major cities around the world. These include London (at Dover Street Market), Paris, New York City, Beijing, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. The company also has special sections within large department stores.
In 2004, Comme des Garçons started opening "Guerrilla stores." These stores were designed to be open for only one year. They spent very little money on decorating the inside. These stores were also purposely located away from the main fashion areas of a city. Guerrilla stores have opened and closed in places like Berlin, Reykjavík, and Stockholm. In 2021, the company brought back its "Guerrilla" stores, which were a new idea for temporary shops long before "pop-up" stores became popular.
See also
In Spanish: Comme des Garçons para niños
