Comme des Garçons Spring 2004

I know this will always be thought of as ‘the topless collection’, but it was such an interesting showcase of one item, that I love to revisit it from time to time. In addition to fixating the entire presentation solely on the skirts, Kawakubo not only took the pieces to a new level, but sort of out of the bracket of what a skirt traditionally is. A variety of gorgeous half silhouettes made their way down the runway but the most intriguing part is, the bold shapes are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to these garments. The construction and deconstruction of the pieces is what make them truly interesting, along with the materials used as they allow for manipulation of the fabric and overall shape.

Some of the skirts, which appear from the outside to be comprised of descending tiers, connected to one another… are actually all separated from each other on the inside of the garment. For instance, some layers are only for one leg to go through, and don’t connect to the waist or any of the other layers – so, if someone lifts up even the top tier of your skirt, they’re greeted with a nice money shot. The humor of Rei’s work certainly exists beyond the surface, but aside from amusement, it makes you rethink an entirely common garment in a whole new light.

I figured I could start posting more of my own pieces to go along with some of the older collections I put in here, especially since they’re usually the inspiration for the posts… so here goes.

Last year I was lucky enough to pick up one of my favorite pieces from the collection and was really surprised at the versatility of the piece (it is the all-white version of this one on the runway ). As I described above, each layer is not connected to the one above it, and this one has 2 separate leg holes, so it can look like a pair of bloomers in a way… but the upper thighs and crotch are totally bare, if you were to peek under the first or second skirt layer, in the front or back.

Also, the fabric is very thick and able to be worn in multiple ways; you can lay it flat, as pictured on the photo above, where you can see how it sort of has a deconstructed spiral design to it. Or as seen below, you can “open” the fabric in different ways to create entirely new shapes. It’s a very fun piece but also very thoughtfully constructed.