Tangled Sensuality. Comme Des Garçons SS03

There’s this one Comme Des Garçons collection I just can’t stop thinking about. I might even say that spring-summer 2003 is my favorite Rei Kawakubo collection… ever. Of course I love and appreciate the garment-installations she’s presenting during Paris Fashion Weeks for over a decade, but I kind of miss that wearability she used to do so evocatively and sensually in the past. Back in 2003, the Japanese designer mused on decorating clothes without using any external embellishments. She wanted to achieve decoration that wasn’t superfluous – as if it was an organic part of the garment, not just sticking out from its surface. As a result, she extended the fabric of her cotton garments, tying and braiding the extra cloth to form bunchy plaits and rosettes. A bulky silhouette informed the collection: boleros, long skirts and tunics were all festooned with outcrops of chunky, tactile elements. But she also had “standard” clothes fused into the collection: very cool cargo pants with raw hems, t-shirts with the Filip Pagowski heart logo layered under “ripped” sheaths, and striking, beautifully tailored jackets with cascading lapels and open-backs. All that tangled up chic was also alive in the wigs by Julien D’Ys, which were stitched-up curls worn as crowns.