PARIS, February 26, 2008 – Rei Kawakubo is an Amy Winehouse fan—who knew? The multiple Grammy award winner's Back to Black played solidly throughout the Comme des Garçons Fall show, and such was the funny sideways take on trashy fifties net petticoats, dance dresses, and underwear that fell out on the runway that—who knows?—maybe La Beehive will eventually return the compliment.

Seriously, though, this was Kawakubo in one of her more skittish moods. As she put it, "There's value in bad taste, too. This is Comme des Garçons bad taste." That included puffballs of tulle in red and cotton-candy pink, hairnet veils, leopard-spot hats, and lattices of elasticized satin-frilled garter straps connecting the gaps between chopped-up garments. Cheesy lip and heart motifs came into play as well, the mouths opening as suggestive frilled portholes on coats, and the love-hearts as embroideries. Still, despite Kawakubo's best efforts to confound the tyranny of "good" taste, she couldn't help but end up with a few items that might just look unironically pretty on the right girl. The black satin bra-topped velvet and chiffon negligee dress, the red circle-skirted polka-dot dance dress, and the white tulle ballet dress caged in black tape all cry out for an Amy, a Lily Allen, or even a dear Kelly Osbourne to do them justice.

– Sarah Mower