Take a huge, rough-hewn biker jacket, lash the seams with crude saddle stitching, and put it atop a delicate Swan Lake-worthy tutu. That was the startling collision of disparate elements at Comme des Garçons. "I thought about the power of the motorbike—the machine itself—and the strength of a ballet dancer's arms," Rei Kawakubo said. In other words, another chapter (Hell's Ballerinas, perhaps?) in her career-long philosophical investigation into women and strength.
Kawakubo's explanation clarified why the dancers' stiff leather or neoprene jackets were cut with rolled-up sleeves, and how their openwork inserts mimicked the cooler vents in a motorcycle engine, and why curviform foam-rubber seat-covers sometimes morphed into skirts. Done in black, tan, or orange, the jackets had the heft of a truly cool idea and made a strangely beautiful contrast with the fragile pinks and whites of the tutus.
Perhaps this collection was commenting on the resources a modern woman needs—speed, toughness, and rigorous self-discipline, for example. (Plus the wisdom of a judge, if that's what Kawakubo meant by those wacky powdered wigs.) Deep readings apart, there were certainly a couple of lovely, and pertinent, superficials: patent ballet flats and the bird-inspired feathery decorations on a couple of dance skirts. | |
Full list of designers:
A.F. Vandevorst, Akris, Alberta Ferretti, Alessandro Dell'Acqua, Alexander McQueen, Alistair Carr, Anna Molinari, As Four, Ashish Gupta, Balenciaga, BCBG Max Azria, Behnaz Sarafpour, Bill Blass, Bottega Veneta, Boudicca, Buddhist Punk, Burberry Prorsum, Calvin Klein, Carolina Herrera, Celine, Chado Ralph Rucci, Chanel, Charles Anastase, Chloé, Christian Dior, Christian Lacroix, Clements Ribeiro, Comme des Garçons, Costume National, D & G, Daryl Kerrigan, Derek Lam, Diane von Furstenberg, DKNY, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, Donatella Versace, Donna Karan, Doo.Ri, Dries Van Noten, Dsquared, Eley Kishimoto, Eleykishimoto Ellesse, Emanuel Ungaro, Emma Cook, Emporio Armani, Etro, Fashion Fringe, Fendi, GARDEM, Giorgio Armani, Gucci, Helmut Lang, Hussein Chalayan, Imitation of Christ, J. Mendel, Jean Paul Gaultier, Jeffrey Chow, Jil Sander, Jill Stuart, John Galliano, Junya Watanabe, Kenneth Cole, Lagerfeld Gallery, Lanvin, Miguel Adrover, Missoni, Miu Miu, Monique Lhuillier, Moschino, Narciso Rodriguez, Nina Ricci, Oscar de la Renta, Perry Ellis Women, Peter Jensen, Peter Som, Phi, Pollini, Prada, Preen, Proenza Schouler, Ralph Lauren, Richard Chai, Rick Owens, Roberto Cavalli, Roberto Menichetti, Rochas, Sebastian Pons, Sonia Rykiel, Sophia Kokosalaki, Stella McCartney, Thakoon, Tommy Hilfiger, Tuleh, Undercover, United Bamboo, Véronique Branquinho, Valentino, Vera Wang, Viktor & Rolf, VPL, Wolfgang Joop, Yohji Yamamoto, YSL Rive Gauche,
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