So this is the first post in my new series 'Designer Files'. I'm going to share with you some of my favourite and most inspiring designers. And of course there couldn't be a better person to kick this series off with than Rei Kawakubo, a designer who turns fashion on it's head and comes up with innovative new concepts every season.
Rei Kawakubo is the creative director behind Commes des Garçons which she founded in 1969. The avant-garde designs are well known for being everything anti-fashion, the idea of not following trends and often making a statement to prove that fashion isn't the most important thing. Often the garments are show cased down the Paris catwalk shows with unfinished seams and laddered knits.
She is highly respected in the fashion industry, always being one step ahead and changing the way we now dress and how fashion is viewed. She approaches the construction of garments in a completely unique way which has resulted in her coming up with new asymmetric cuts changing the way materials fit and drape on the body and showcasing her talent for layering, tailoring and fabrication.
A strong belief of the designer has been to always challenge the way women are seen and the traditional beliefs of femininity. Her recent SS16 collection stayed true to this campaign, named witches, was summarised by Adrian Joffe, president of Commes des Garçons, “Witches. These are strong women that are often misunderstood by the world” The silhouettes of the collection were knotted and ruffled in velvet in deep shades of blue and teal.
The fashion industry wouldn't be the same without the influence of Rei Kawakubo and she'll continue changing it with her very personal and often misunderstood concepts each season.
Polly x
