Product range. Non-conventional use of materials, lumps and bumps, fabrics draped around the body, pure colours, asymmetric designs, exposed seams: the experiment is going on. At Comme des Garçons they are not afraid of looking ridiculous, perplexing, or even disgusting.
Originality. Rei Kawakubo, the founder and irreplaceable Creative Director of Comme des Garçons, is a researcher whose field goes well beyond fabrics and materials to the body itself. In her pieces, she offers a new reading of forms and silhouettes, and has always been true to her drive to create only something that hasn't been created before.
Chic. Comme des Garçons are original and unruly, which keeps warm the acute interest in their new creations.
Pricing. Comme des Garçons position themselves as an art brand. The price tags are adjusted accordingly. T-shirts from Comme des Garçons Play collections (a diffusion line of wardrobe basics) can be purchased for €70 to €85; signature line coats and jackets are €700 to €1,500; skirts and jumpsuits are never less than €450. 50 ml fragrances are available for €60 to €100.
Corporate history highlights. Well-versed in oriental and West European arts, Rei Kawakubo, the founder and irreplaceable Creative Director of Comme des Garçons, has made the public divided over her oeuvre since the maiden Paris fashion show in 1981. She inspired the influential Antwerp Six to pursue their avant-garde careers and she's rewritten the history of highbrow fashion design with her uncompromising stand against symmetry.
Comme des Garçons as a multi-brand store A novel approach to running the business was decisive for the commercial success of the company. Comme des Garçons stands for both a namesake brand and a multi-brand store at the same time. This strategy proved instrumental for capitalising on the brand's solid reputation and a wide product range simultaneously, much to the delight of emerging fashion designers promoted this way. For example, Gosha Rubchinskiy has recently come to international prominence thanks to the backing by Comme des Garçons.
Another novelty that was introduced by Comme des Garçons and took the world by storm was pop-up retail through makeshift unadvertised outlets. The stores of this kind totally rely on word of mouth for promotion. The first pop-up store of this kind was opened in an abandoned bookstore on the outskirts of Berlin in 204 and worked for about a year. Similar stores were later discovered in the most unexpected places and were hyped not less than iPhone sales starts.
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