Comme des Garçons Spring 2012 Ready-to-Wear Collection on Style.com: Runway Review

Comme des Garçons

PARIS, October 1, 2011

By Tim Blanks

For once, Rei Kawakubo's cryptic clue for her new Comme des Garçons collection made perfect sense. "White drama" was a precise summation of a show that felt like it tracked a progression through life's dramatic way stations: birth, marriage, death, transcendence. Tradition drapes each of those moments in white and attaches distinct rituals to them, which set off some fascinating echoes in Kawakubo's all-white collection. Some were as obvious as the duchesse satin of a wedding dress or the lace of a christening gown; others were more oblique, such as a reference to a body laid out in white flowers, or the pointy-headed robes worn by church dignitaries during Seville's Semana Santa.

The ceremonial grandeur of the clothes and the stately way they were shown felt like yet another echo of the fifties/sixties couture influence that has insinuated itself into Spring 2012. More specifically, there was the spirit of Cristobal Balenciaga, a deeply religious man who elevated the craft of couture to the level of spiritual quest. He believed he could find salvation in the perfect sleeve. It was probably coincidence that sleeves were the signal detail of the Comme collection (they were long and wide, falling almost to the floor), just as it was probably coincidence that the show took place in a Salvation Army building. Unless, of course, you believe there is no such thing as coincidence, a conclusion that was easy to reach given the presentation's inescapable spiritual dimension.

It was tempting to see in that a response by Kawakubo to the disasters that afflicted Japan this year, with life-and-death dramas still being played out every day. But that sounds unduly solemn for a show that, for all its grand theme, was still spiked by drollness in details such as the headgear contributed by three different artists, the Westwood hoops, and the lacy lingerie trims that introduced hints of carnality. Yes, the white boots might be worn by technicians in a nuclear reactor. But equally, they could be sixties couture a-go-go.

See all from Comme des Garçons › Timeline

A.F. Vandevorst	A.L.C.	Acne
ADAM	A Détacher	Akris
Alberta Ferretti	Albino	Alexander McQueen
Alexander Wang	Alexandre Herchcovitch	Alexandre Plokhov
Alexis Mabille	Alice + Olivia	Altuzarra
Andrew Gn	Anna Sui	Ann Demeulemeester
Anne Valérie Hash	Ann-Sofie Back Atelje	Anthony Vaccarello
Antonio Berardi	Antonio Marras	Aquascutum
Aquilano.Rimondi	Araks	Azzaro

Badgley Mischka	Balenciaga	Bally
Balmain	Banana Republic	Band of Outsiders
Barbara Bui	Barbara Tfank	Basso & Brooke
BCBG Max Azria	Bebe	Betsey Johnson
Bibhu Mohapatra	Bill Blass	Billy Reid
Blumarine	Bottega Veneta	Brood
Burberry Prorsum

Cacharel	Calla	Calvin Klein Collection
Camilla and Marc	Carlos Miele	Carolina Herrera
Carven	Celine	Chado Ralph Rucci
Chadwick Bell	Chalayan	Chanel
Charlotte Ronson	Chloé	Chris Benz
Christian Cota	Christian Dior	Christian Siriano
Christophe Lemaire	Christopher Kane	Christopher Raeburn
Clements Ribeiro	Collette Dinnigan	Comme des Garçons
Commuun	Costello Tagliapietra	Costume National
Creatures of the Wind	Cushnie et Ochs	Custo Barcelona
Cynthia Rowley	Cynthia Steffe

D&G	Damir Doma	Danielle Scutt
Daryl K	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
Emanuel Ungaro	Emilio de la Morena	Emilio Pucci
Emporio Armani	Erdem	Erin Fetherston
Etro