Comme des Garçons, the visionary Japanese fashion house founded by Rei Kawakubo in 1969, stands as one of the most revolutionary forces in the global fashion landscape. Its journey from Tokyo’s underground avant-garde scene to the global high-fashion stage represents not just a timeline of innovation but a philosophy of deconstruction, rebellion, and artistic rebirth. Through every decade, Comme des Garçons has challenged conventions, redefined beauty, and reshaped the boundaries between art and fashion.
The 1970s: Birth of the Avant-Garde Vision
The 1970s marked the genesis of Comme des Garçons, translating to “like the boys.” Founded in Tokyo, Rei Kawakubo’s designs stood in stark contrast to Japan’s postwar obsession with Western ideals of glamour and perfection. Instead, she embraced asymmetry, imperfection, and monochrome minimalism—a visual protest against traditional fashion norms.
During this era, Kawakubo’s creations were intentionally raw and unrefined. Her pieces were constructed to distort the body’s natural shape, introducing a new perspective of beauty rooted in abstraction rather than conformity. This anti-fashion aesthetic soon became a defining characteristic of the brand, drawing a devoted following among intellectuals and creatives who sought deeper meaning in design.
By the end of the decade, Comme des Garçons had become a cultural force in Tokyo’s Harajuku district, setting the foundation for what would soon become a global fashion revolution.
The 1980s: The Paris Shockwave and Global Recognition
The 1980s were the decade that catapulted Comme des Garçons into international fame—and controversy. When Rei Kawakubo presented her first Paris Fashion Week collection in 1981, critics and audiences were stunned. The collection, titled “Destroy,” featured distressed fabrics, torn edges, and a predominantly black palette, which sharply contrasted with the colorful excesses of 1980s fashion.
European critics dubbed it “Hiroshima chic”, a label that was both dismissive and revealing of how profoundly her work disrupted the Western aesthetic sensibility. Kawakubo wasn’t designing clothes for beauty; she was crafting philosophical statements about identity, destruction, and rebirth.
The decade also marked the beginning of her long-time collaboration with Junya Watanabe, who would later become one of the brand’s key protégés. Together, they expanded the idea of deconstruction into a method of creation, where tearing something apart was a way to rebuild it anew. This period defined Comme des Garçons’ global identity as the house of conceptual fashion.
The 1990s: Deconstruction Becomes a Movement
By the 1990s, Comme des Garçons had solidified its position as the intellectual heart of high fashion. The decade was defined by Kawakubo’s deep exploration into gender neutrality, nonconformity, and emotional expression through form.
Collections like “Body Meets Dress, Dress Meets Body” (1997) introduced padded garments that distorted the human silhouette into bulbous, almost alien-like forms. This was Kawakubo’s critique of the fashion industry’s obsession with the perfect body. Her work became a mirror reflecting society’s contradictions—its pursuit of beauty alongside its fear of imperfection.
The brand’s experimental nature also extended into retail. In 1996, the first Comme des Garçons Guerrilla Store was launched, redefining luxury shopping through temporary, industrial-style spaces that rejected the polished aesthetics of mainstream fashion boutiques.
During this era, Kawakubo’s mantra of “creation through destruction” reached full maturity. Comme des Garçons had transcended fashion—it became a philosophical experiment in the aesthetics of impermanence and rebirth.
The 2000s: Collaboration and Cultural Expansion
The early 2000s ushered in a new chapter for Comme des Garçons—a balance between high conceptualism and commercial innovation. Rei Kawakubo began experimenting with collaborations that bridged avant-garde fashion with mass culture.
Notably, the partnership with H&M in 2008 broke barriers by bringing avant-garde design to the high street, making Comme des Garçons’ philosophy accessible to a broader audience. Simultaneously, Kawakubo’s collaborations with brands such as Nike, Louis Vuitton, and Converse created a new model of artistic commercialism, where creative freedom met mainstream appeal.
This decade also saw the rise of Comme des Garçons PLAY, the more casual sub-line distinguished by its iconic heart logo designed by Filip Pagowski. PLAY introduced a youthful, playful energy while retaining the brand’s intellectual core, appealing to a global generation seeking individuality in an increasingly homogenized fashion market.
Under Kawakubo’s vision, Comme des Garçons continued to evolve—not by conforming, but by redefining what fashion could mean in a commercial and cultural context.
The 2010s: Art, Architecture, and Radical Expression
The 2010s were the era of artistic transcendence for Comme des Garçons. Kawakubo pushed fashion beyond its physical limits, treating garments as sculptural installations that spoke to themes of existentialism, chaos, and rebirth.
Her Spring/Summer 2014 “Not Making Clothes” collection blurred the line between couture and art, presenting exaggerated shapes that were almost impossible to wear—yet deeply moving to experience. Each piece was a living sculpture, a testament to Kawakubo’s mastery of form as emotion.
In 2017, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute honored Rei Kawakubo with a landmark exhibition titled “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between.” This was only the second time in history that the Met dedicated a solo exhibition to a living designer, confirming her status as one of fashion’s most transformative and intellectual figures.
The decade also witnessed the brand’s expansion into architectural fashion retail, with the Dover Street Market concept stores becoming cultural landmarks that merged fashion, art, and commerce into a unified experience.
The 2020s and Beyond: Legacy and Rebirth
In the 2020s, Comme des Garçons continues to evolve under Kawakubo’s direction, remaining at the forefront of conceptual design and cultural discourse. Amid an industry increasingly defined by fast fashion and digital trends, the brand stands as a symbol of resistance—a reminder that true creativity demands risk, introspection, and courage.
Emerging designers under the Comme des Garçons umbrella, such as Junya Watanabe, Kei Ninomiya, and Tao Kurihara, carry forward Kawakubo’s legacy of innovation, each interpreting the brand’s ethos through their own lens. Together, they form a living ecosystem of creativity, ensuring that Comme des Garçons remains not a relic of the past but a continually evolving force in the modern era.
Today, Comme des Garçons represents more than a fashion label—it is a philosophy of perpetual rebirth, a dialogue between destruction and creation that challenges us to rethink not only what we wear but how we define beauty, identity, and meaning itself.
Conclusion: The Eternal Cycle of Creation
The story of Comme des Garçons is not merely a history of fashion but a manifesto of transformation. From its rebellious origins in Tokyo to its celebrated status on the Paris runways, the brand has remained steadfast in its mission: to deconstruct the ordinary and give birth to the extraordinary.
As fashion trends rise and fade, Comme des Garçons continues to stand apart—timeless, fearless, and perpetually reborn.
Manish Sharma 
Corteiz Store 
OVObrand clothing