See ya in line, Comme des Garcons hits the big apple

Written by Julie Hoylen on November 12, 2008 · 4 Comments

The much anticipated release of the Comme des Garcons exclusive line for H&M hits the shelves tomorrow morning in New York- and from the looks of it’s prior release in London and Tokyo, be prepared for some frenzied fans!

H&M have collaborated with some well know names ( Madonna, Stella McCartney, Viktor & Rolf ) , but this particular ‘hook up’ has set the fashion world spinning. You see, Rei Kawakubo the designer behind the label has become know as a sort of ‘Greta Garbo’ of the fashion industry. Fashion Director Hillary Alexander describes Kawakubo in the London Telegraph as “a reclusive Japanese designer of iconic status who abhors the limelight and delights in contradiction.”

I suppose her teaming up with a mass market chain store is a contradiction we can all delight in- but be prepared- the prices are a little higher than normal, the coveted dress/coat that seems to be on everyone’s must have list alone retails for $399. Why the higher tags? The cut, fabric and finishes of the higher end pieces are said to be incredibly well made- a real fashion bargain in a time of extreme credit crunch! Plus the designs are right on track with her current runway line ( which believe me retails for a whole lot more! ).

The color palette- in true Comme des Garcons fashion, black, white, navy, white and pink- in both solid and polka dot whimsy! I plan on going, but they always do these releases during working hours, so I won’t make it til early afternoon- hopefully there will be a few scrapes of loveliness left!!!

Michele Sherman Kalish

Julie
Keep me posted! I have no shopping expeditions on my immediate horizon due to home construction intensity, Bar Mitzvah-in-3 months minutaie and normal end of the year craziness. I think I will check out H&M.com, though, and see some inkling for myself!

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Julie Hoylen

Hey Michele,

I agree with you that just because it has a designer's name on the label does not always make it the right choice- no matter what your budget. But the allure of a famous ( or even not- famous-yet indie ) designer's name does play a strange mind trick on most fashion aware consumers, I think we sometimes tend to trust their design judgment more than our own feelings when we look in the mirror.

It always makes me think about that "I Love Lucy' episode when Lucy is in Paris and goes on a hunger strike til Ricky agrees to buy her an expensive French designer dress- Ricky eventually buys the dress than discovers that Ethel has actually been sneaking Lucy food on the sly. As revenge he and Fred design two dresses for the fashion-loving duo, sewing the famous label's inside. Leaving poor Lucy and Ethel strolling the lovely streets of Paris, noses in the air thinking that they were at the height of fashion when in truth they were wearing nothing more than burlap potato sack dresses and horse's feed bags carefully shaped into stylish chapeaux! Even back then- the name on the label had a very seductive effect.

With that said, I'm sure the Comme de Garcons line for H&M will be a huge success. In part the pure hype and excitement over the union of a designer that has been making bold fashion 'statements' since the late 1960's and everyone's favorite go-to store for affordable 'of the moment' fashions and because the goal for this line ( on both parts of designer and retailer ) was to take the essence of the designers aesthetic eye and mix it together with a broader market appeal- and though still not for everyone- a pair of polka dot converse sneakers are sure to be way more wearable and sell-able ( to those even less than tragically hip ) then say one of her advant- garde 'bondage wrapped dress' from the fall runway- both being Comme des Garcons all the same.

I will be interested to see if this line is successful. While ultra-sophisticated and, one might say, cerebral Commes de Garcons is rarely flattering OR easy to wear. I do not know H&M's demographic, but I would imagine it is young. And tragically hip. I used to have this discussion with a very old friend of mine who was interning with Geoffrey Beene at the time. She was a bit of a rebel, and had a SIGNIFICANTLY larger budget than a just-graduated-from college-with-major-loans me. She was buying Dolce & Gabanna before many of us knew of the duo. HOWEVER, she often wore things that looked AWFUL on her. Yes, they were D & G, but who cares what the label says if it doesn't actually look good?!? To me, that is Commes de Garcons.