In the early 80's Rei Kawakubo stated that she had felt “dissatisfied” with what she was designing. “I felt I should be doing something more directional, more powerful .. I decided to start from zero, from nothing, to do things that have not been done before, things with a strong image.”

Kawakubo is constantly rethinking, deconstructing, and restructuring our ideas about fashion, including the gendered norms and codes of the clothes we wear and accept as feminine or masculine. Comme des Garçons underwent a noticeable evolution throughout the 1990's towards risky presentations of clothes that looked less and less commercially viable. 

By the time we arrive at Fall 2001’s “Beyond Taboo”, Kawakubo had created Spring 1997’s notorious Lumps and Bumps collection (actual title: “Body Meets Dress, Dress Meets Body”) which padded the body in unexpected places instead of exaggerating the usual sexualized sites (the bust, the hips, the rear).

Spring 1995’s “Transcending Gender” explored ideas about suiting–-the lapels of a tailored jacket become halter top straps, a pouf dress emerges from the hem of a shirt, and skirts are worn over trousers. Fall 1995’s “Sweeter Than Sweet” twists classically feminine tropes like tulle gowns, smocks, slips, floral prints and embroidery.

“Beyond Taboo” revisited and merged those themes with an added element of sex and the forbidden. The flasher's slick black trench morphs into a lace-trimmed red slip, sleazy synthetic satin and printed pleather are shown throughout, nylon tulle slips fall off shoulders and deconstructed longline corsets are worn half-open, at times exposing swathes of skin. But Kawakubo also has a sense of humour and rebelliousness about the conventions of sexiness–-she’s playfully coy with sheer cut-outs that reveal unlikely erogenous zones (knees), bloomers are worn on the outside, and bullet brassieres are strapped onto derrieres.

Fashion critic Cathy Horyn wrote “[Kawakubo] has used the skills of her pattern-makers in Tokyo to attack and explore a variety of human conditions, including randomness, unreality, our literal and metaphorical burdens, and our complex ideas about eroticism and beauty. She makes us see these things in her fashion.”

At the time “Beyond Taboo” was in-step with avant-garde designers’ explorations of deconstructed tailoring, subverted innerwear-as-outerwear, cheeky references to fetish gear, and hybridized garments. Twenty to thirty years on, these ideas have become part of the code and are widely seen in both niche and mainstream fashion.

Shop Comme Des Garcons FW 2001 “Beyond Taboo” tunic.

Shop Comme Des Garcons FW 2001 “Beyond Taboo” jacket.

Shop all Comme Des Garcons at VSP.

Shop the Avant Garde Collection at VSP.

 

Credits:

Styling and Text - Jaime Sin @jaime_sin

Photography - Sam Pierre @itssassysam

Model - Kaya Phillips 

Retoucher - Alex Knabenschuh