Soldiers Of Love. Comme Des Garçons Homme Plus AW25

For the second season in a row, I had the unbelievably beautiful experience of seeing the Comme Des Garçons collection IRL, at the brand’s showroom near Place Vendome in Paris. It’s always quite a striking contrast: first you’ve got to cross all the bling-bling flagships, from Cartier to Van Cleef & Arpels, and then you suddenly immerse into the world of Comme. And if you’re lucky, Rei Kawakubo, the mastermind creative and founder of the brand, stands there, just behind the glass wall of her office, keeping her finger pretty much everything this company stands for. Really, not many 82-year old designers of her status are that present in their brands. Actually, not many designers of any age are THAT present in their brands.

Visiting the Comme Des Garçons showroom lets you truly understand Kawakubo’s clothes. Of course, attending the label’s fashion show is a dream, ranked high up in my wishlist of things to do. But at the showroom, you can see the garments upclose, feel their emotional deepness, and be struck by their extraordinary craftsmanship. Sharing the space with the designer herself adds a TRUE Benjamin-esque aura to it, too.

The autumn-winter 2025 collection from the menswear Homme Plus line had a loud, clear statement: “To hell with war”. Confronting the reality that young boys and men are being called up for army service, being sent to kill or be killed by countries across the world, can easily fall dumb-flat in case of fashion. But not when Kawakubo does it, so poignantly and movingly. And in any case, her position was straightforward: her young Comme soldiers are peaceniks. Their metal hats self-decorated with flowers or wrapped in fancy, vintage fabrics felt naive, but in a heart-warming, hopeful way. In their deconstructed field jackets and brass-buttoned army officer’s uniforms, they were “soldiers of love”, as Sade once sang.

Rebel and resist. For love, beauty and freedom. Rei, you’re a force.