Comme des Garçons facts for kids
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| Public company | |
| Industry | Fashion |
| Founded | 1969 |
| Founder | Rei Kawakubo |
| Headquarters | Tokyo, Japan (de facto) Paris, France (de jure) |
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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 (often called CDG) is a famous Japanese fashion brand. It was started by Rei Kawakubo and has its main office in Paris, France. You can find their stores in big cities like London, New York City, Seoul, and Tokyo. Besides clothes, the brand also makes jewelry and perfumes.
The company shows its newest collections during important fashion events like Paris Fashion Week. In 2017, the company and its related businesses made over $280 million in a year.
Contents
How Comme des Garçons Started
The brand began in Tokyo, Japan, in 1969. It became an official company in 1973. In Japanese, the name is コム・デ・ギャルソン (Komu de Gyaruson). The name means "like boys" in French. It was inspired by a 1962 song by Françoise Hardy.
The brand became very popular in Japan in the 1970s. A line of clothes for men was added in 1978. In 1981, Comme des Garçons had its first fashion show in Paris. At first, some French critics did not like Rei Kawakubo's style. She often used black, worn-out fabrics and clothes with unfinished seams.
In the 1980s, the brand's clothes were often linked to a rough, punk-like style. Some experts did not like these unusual styles, which continued into the 1990s.
In 1993, the company started its perfume line, Comme Des Garçons Parfums.
Since 2004, the company has made its special handmade clothes in France. Other clothes are made in Japan, Spain, and Turkey. For example, the Play line, which is very popular, is mostly made in these countries.
Different Collections
Comme des Garçons has many different clothing lines. Each line has its own style and purpose.
- Designed by Rei Kawakubo
- Comme des Garçons: The main clothing line for women, started in 1969.
- Comme des Garçons Noir: A women's collection that mostly uses black clothes.
- Comme des Garçons Homme Plus: The main clothing line for men.
- Comme des Garçons Shirt: A collection that mainly features shirts.
- Play Comme des Garçons: This is a casual streetwear line for younger people. It is known for its bug-eyed heart logo, designed with artist Filip Pagowski.
- CDG: A modern streetwear line with a black and white CDG logo.
- BLACK Comme des Garçons: A line of clothes for everyone, with lower prices. It started in 2008 during a time when money was tight.
- Designed by Junya Watanabe
- Junya Watanabe Comme des Garçons: A women's clothing line.
- Junya Watanabe Comme des Garçons Man: A men's clothing line.
- Designed by Tao Kurihara
- Tao Comme des Garçons: A women's clothing line.
- Designed by Kei Ninomiya
- Noir Kei Ninomiya: A women's clothing line, started in 2013.
- Accessories
- Comme des Garçons Pearl: A jewelry collection.
- Comme des Garçons Parfum: The perfume line.
- Comme des Garçons Wallet: A collection of wallets.
Perfumes
Comme des Garçons also makes many unique fragrances. Most of these perfumes are designed for anyone to wear, not just men or women. This is different from many other perfume brands.
The company released its first perfume in 1994. In 1998, they launched an "anti-perfume" called Odeur 53. This perfume has a mix of 53 unusual scents.
Adrian Joffe, who is the CEO of the company, helps manage the perfume business. Some perfumes are sold by the company itself, while others are licensed to another company called Puig.
In 2014, they released a perfume called G I R L. The artist KAWS designed the bottle for this perfume. In 2017, they launched a new perfume called Concrete.
Fashion Style
Comme des Garçons clothes are designed in Tokyo, Japan. They are made in Japan, France, Spain, and Turkey. The company often works with arts and cultural projects around the world.
For example, in 1997, they had a collection with fabric "lumps and bumps" on the clothes. This led to a collaboration with a dancer named Merce Cunningham. They created a show called Scenario.
Another collection in 2006 explored how people present themselves. It mixed men's tailored clothes with feminine touches like corsets and flower patterns.
The company has also worked with other brands, like H&M and Stüssy.
Many famous people have worn Comme des Garçons clothes. The singer Björk wore the brand in her music video for Isobel. The musician Frank Ocean even named a song after the company.
Exhibitions
Comme des Garçons has held several exhibitions to show its work. In 1986, they showed photographs by Peter Lindbergh in Paris. In 1990, they had an exhibition of sculpture. In 2005, they showed their advertising and graphic designs in Tokyo.
In 2010, the company opened a large, six-story store in Seoul, South Korea. This store also had a special art exhibition space.
In May 2017, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York held a big fashion exhibition. It was called Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons Art of the In-Between. This show lasted until September of that year.
Stores
You can find Comme des Garçons stores in many major cities. These include London (as Dover Street Market), Paris, New York City, Beijing, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. The brand also has special sections inside some large department stores.
In 2004, the company started opening "Guerrilla stores" in cities like Berlin. These stores were only open for about one year. They were designed to be simple and cost very little to set up. They were also placed in areas that were not usually known for fashion. Guerrilla stores have opened and closed in many places, like Reykjavík, Warsaw, and Athens.
In 2009, the company opened a large store in Hong Kong called Under The Ground. In 2012, they opened a store in Manila. The first Dover Street Market in Japan opened in Ginza. In 2013, a Dover Street Market opened in New York City. In 2021, the company brought back its "Guerrilla" stores.
See also
In Spanish: Comme des Garçons para niños
