Speedo By Comme des Garçons

Brazil usually comes to mind when one thinks swim wear fashions, after so many beach trends hailed from the beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana in the past decades. The warm weather, the beautiful paradisiac beaches and the sexy locals make it the perfect inspirational mix for Brazilian designers but the new wave in swim wear seems to be coming from the unlikeliest of places. Not Iran, Japan! One of the most surprising partnerships in recent memory, Comme des Garçons' designer Rei Kawakubo joined forces with swim wear powerhouse Speedo for an unexpected capsule collection. Prices range from £9.00 for her logo swim cap to £55.00 for a women's one piece, not bad at all considering how much her own label retails for. The pieces are definitely on the basic/functional side - no 3-legged trunks to be found anywhere in sight - and surprisingly logo-heavy for an usually minimalist designer.

I still find hard to envision Ms Kawakubo, a creator of many challenging and cerebral avant-garde fashions, splashing about in a Speedo maillot of her own design, but what do I know?

Available at Dover Street Market

Kaws & Comme des Garçons Collaboration Collection

American artist Kaws has teamed up with Japanese avant-garde label Comme des Garçons to create a series of very cool wallets. These wallets utilize the popular CdG zip style wallet together with the familiar styles of Kaws illustrations. This collaboration includes more than just wallets and will also feature clothing, bags and fragrances. These items are set to debut on November 23rd and will be available at Colette in Paris, Dover Street Market in London and Original Fake , Kaws co-owed shop with Medicon Toy in Tokyo.

They do remind me of something eerily organic like little hairy turds or limp penises, am I right? Maybe I just have a dirty mind or could Freud explain it?

Via Hypebeast / Honeyee

Comme des Garçons Builds Niche Perfume Empire

What do Daphne Guinness and Stephen Jones have in common - apart from their English eccentric style? They are both launching first fragrances under the auspices of Adrian Joffe, who heads up the company of his partner Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons and has developed for her a fragrance empire.
The idea of Joffe as the beauty industry's new prince of perfume sounds unlikely. But, as Joffe says, there is an increasing demand for niche marketing in this area where big does not always seem so beautiful.
The proof is in the steady development of Comme des Garçons fragrances since the early beginnings in 1993. When its Eau de Parfum was launched around the swimming pool at the Ritz, it seemed more like a medicinal congress than a beauty event, as bags of yellow liquid were the decoration of choice.

Instead of the standard $50,000 launch parties that reverberated through the 1990s, Comme des Garçons brought out a different concept each year, with the 1999 series of "Leaves" a hit with customers.
But Comme des Garçons Parfum has remained an individualist and a family affair.
Jones explains that he worked closely with Kawakubo herself on his concept, saying "she's not a perfume person," but that "she is a very good editor."
While Kawakubo has always been labeled an iconoclast, Joffe has broken the mold in a more nuanced way. The Dover Street Market, set up as a London multi-brand store, was dismissed as an aberration in the era of brand retail flagships. But now, with its mix of cool and traditional fashion and accessories - not least from Comme des Garçons' own labels, the store is looking increasingly visionary.

The financial side is also moving ahead, with wholesale figures up 32 percent to $3.5 million for year end to May 2007 and profits rising by 50 percent. The new phase of development will see Comme des Garçons managing its independent names and paying them a royalty. "Our role is like a producer in a movie," says Joffe. "And like a producer, we have to be satisfied with the plot and the text."

Text by Suzy Menkes

Via International Herald Tribune

Duggie Fields @ Dover Street Market

Set Of Four Badges by British Artist Duggie Fields , special edition exclusively at Comme des Garcons' Dover Street Market in London. Diameter 5.5 cm £16.00

Available at Dover Street Market