Comme des Garçons Spring 2011 Ready-to-Wear Collection on Style.com: Runway Review

Comme des Garçons

PARIS, October 2, 2010

By Tim Blanks

Rei Kawakubo was looking to shake things up, so she literally turned clothes upside down in her new collection for Comme des Garçons. The French have an evocative-sounding word for it: bouleversé. And there was plenty of that in coats that trailed sleeves to the ground, or jackets that had clutches of other jackets dangling from their backs. A single jacket would be collaged from a couple more, and dresses were layered for an effect that evoked Kawakubo's other gnomic reference point: multiple personalities.

The fact is, as much as she sought to court chaos, there was a spare elegance to many of the designer's constructions, compounded by Julien d'Ys' delicate aerodynamic cloches of feather and net. Take, for instance, the white cotton military coat; or the perfecto-style jacket, also white, which was elongated and expanded so it was almost capelike, then wrapped in black; or the black jacket cut away over a striped cotton nightgown. (Another striped smock bordered on asylum attendant, evoking a sort of bouleversé Gothicism.) A top had one arm ruffled, the other tiered, as couture as Capucci. The finale conjoined pairs of women with a third outfit, conveying the notion of multiple personalities in an obvious way. Why? Wrong question. Why not? Right answer.

See all from Comme des Garçons › Timeline

A.F. Vandevorst	Acne	ADAM
A Détacher	Akris	Alberta Ferretti
Albino	Alexander McQueen	Alexander Wang
Alexandre Herchcovitch	Alexis Mabille	Alice + Olivia
Altuzarra	Andrew Gn	Anna Sui
Ann Demeulemeester	Anne Valérie Hash	Antonio Berardi
Antonio Marras	Aquilano.Rimondi	Araks
Azzaro

Badgley Mischka	Balenciaga	Bally
Balmain	Banana Republic	Band of Outsiders
Barbara Bui	Barbara Tfank	Basso & Brooke
BCBG Max Azria	Behnaz Sarafpour	Bensoni
Betsey Johnson	Betty Jackson	Bibhu Mohapatra
Bill Blass	Blumarine	Bottega Veneta
Brioni	Burberry Prorsum

Cacharel	Calvin Klein Collection	Carlos Miele
Carolina Herrera	Carven	Celine
Cerruti	Chado Ralph Rucci	Chalayan
Chanel	Charles Anastase	Charlotte Ronson
Chloé	Chris Benz	Christian Cota
Christian Dior	Christian Siriano	Christopher Kane
Clements Ribeiro	Collette Dinnigan	Comme des Garçons
Commuun	Costello Tagliapietra	Costume National
Cushnie et Ochs	Custo Barcelona	Cynthia Rowley
Cynthia Steffe

D&G	Damir Doma	Davidelfin
David Koma	Dennis Basso	Derek Lam
Diane von Furstenberg	Diesel Black Gold	DKNY
Dolce & Gabbana	Donna Karan	Doo.Ri
Douglas Hannant	Dries Van Noten	Dsquared²
Duro Olowu

Edun	Elie Saab	Elie Tahari
Elise Øverland	Emanuel Ungaro	Emilio de la Morena
Emilio Pucci	Emporio Armani	Erdem
Erin Fetherston	Etro