Museum Visit #2

I visited the National Gallery of Victoria's virtual exhibition titled, "Collecting Comme." The exhibition is focused on the works of Japanese designer, Rei Kawakubo and her fashion label Comme des Garçons. Kawakubo is considered one of the most visionary and influential modern designers who have constantly redefined fashion. In an attempt to, as she says, "make something that did not exist before," Kawakubo deconstructs garments and remake them afresh with new functions and forms. I have always heard the name Rei Kawakubo whenever I read about 3D design but I never really knew who she was. However, this exhibition presented a perfect opportunity for me to really start exploring her designs and get to know for myself why so many people consider her an artistic genius.

Analysis #1

The dramatic ensemble to the left is an outfit from the spring-summer 2015 Blood & Roses collection. From the get go, one notices that the structure and form of the cape's construction is very avant garde. It is sewn to have these repetitive jagged lines running throughout with puffed panels to emulate a the look of a deconstructed rose bud. The bright monochromatic red color and the segmentation from the lines also creates a sharp tooth like visual that ties in with the blood theme of the collection.

The outfit's form is the most interesting aspect. It is not directly replicating a rose's shape but the organic and half circle shapes that run throughout certainly makes one recall stacked individual rose petals. Overall, I just really like how Kawakubo was able to deconstruct and rework something as simple as a rose into an entirely novel and interesting garment.

Analysis #2

The jacket and skirt to the left is are pieces from the 2005 spring summer collection titled Bikers & Ballerinas. True to the name, the whole collection was about juxtaposing and intermixing the hard masculine leather of Bikers with the feminine and soft forms of ballerina costumes and tutus. The jacket is a deconstructed leather biker's jacket that has been repurposed and sewn into a new form with additional stichings done to add layer to the piece. The skirt is reminiscent of biker gloves in its material and form and shows additional leather piping akin to that on the jacket.

I really like this outfit because it showcases Kawakubo's design and technical brilliance. She was able to deconsruct a garment and remake it into an entirely new look while adding that comme des garcon flair. Moreover, the unity that these two seperate pieces give when tied together also goes to show how thorough and well put together the entire collection is.

Comparitive Analysis

The top dress is from spring summer 2013 Crush collection and the bottom dress is from spring summer 2019. Each dress is extremely unique on its own but possess the signature comme des garcons look.

The top dress is entirely made from deconstructed skirts and that is obvious from different frills and layers that jut out in a haphazard fashion. Kawakubo was able to retain the form of skirts while also combining them to create this new monochromatic dress with different lines converging and splitting. The use of layering and avant garde stiching to create interesting dimensions and shapes is a signature of Kawakubo and is reflected on this dress.

The bottom dress has an outer coat layer that has been abruptly cut from the shoulder down to reveal an inner long printed dress. The juxtaposition of the classic coat with the modern stretch dress and the exaggerated print and sleeves is very interesting and once again shows Kawakubo's forward design think and shows her ability to reconstruct and reimagine classic garments into new weareables akin to the top dress.

Both dresses does an impeccable job of showing the essence of Comme des Garçons through their construction and shared themes. The top dress is classic CDG in its deconstructionist and avant garden design and the bottom dress is one that highlights the design level of Kawakubo.

Viewer Response

The pieces are all laid out in plain mannequins infront of non-distracting backgrounds so that the viewer's focus are on them. This definitely helps viewers look at details on the pieces. In contrast to a runway where pieces are being worn by models who quickly walk in and out, a museum setting helps for slow observation and documentation of the works. However, a runway allows for more of the creativity and inspiration behind the collection to come through. Runways can be decorated in accordance with the theme of the collection and models' hair and makeup will complement and strengthen the pieces they are wearing. As such, one improvement this exhibition could capitalize on is to rehash the background settings the mannequins are in to be more decorated in line with the pieces. A good example of how beneficial this is would be the MET's annual costume exhibitions.

Thumbnail Sketch #1

Thumbnail Sketch #2

Exhibition Inspired Sketch

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