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CommeDesGarcons Unique HandCutOverDyedAppliques PlungeVneck PulloverTop, SS 1999

Name: CommeDesGarcons Unique HandCutOverDyedAppliques PlungeVneck PulloverTop, SS 1999
Brand: Comme des Garçons
Rating: 5 (2 reviews)

About the Item

Unlike anything else from the 1990s, Comme des Garcons founder Rei Kawakubo (b. 1942) designed in 1999 for her Spring/Summer 2000 collection this pink-overdyed pullover soft stretch-nylon knit sleeveless top or vest that features multi-tone hand-cut-and-dyed voluminous organza and polyurethane appliques, which are arranged around the neckline and asymmetrically on one side angled like a dart. It can be worn with its plunging V-neck in front or in back by a woman or man. As you can see from our photos of the FirstView runway coverage, this style top was worn under an fuchsia applique-adorned bolero-style short-sleeve jacket, while Kawakubo styled other similar sleeveless tops to stand alone. From Kawakubo's self-described "beautiful chaos" collection, such one-of-a-kind tops are decorated with fringed, slashed, scrunched, shirred and/or couched adornments that recall Polynesian fresh-flower leis. On the runway, they were layered and asymmetrically styled over rumpled misaligned shirts and minimalist bias-cut dresses (see our other listings for a runway-Look salmon-color bias-cut maxi dress or appliqued purple-overdyed top). In terms of fashion history, the collection was especially well-described initially in 1999 by the Vogue reviewer: "Rei Kawakubo's designs are normally unsettling at first, somewhat confusing and, ultimately, incomparably beautiful. What begins as an assault on the senses slowly reveals itself as the work of a true artistic genius--creating some of the most original pieces of the season. At the heart of the collection was a series of shirts and dresses with unexpected abundance of texture and color. Evoking exotic flowers or corals, Kawakubo piled yards of fabric into bundles of ruffles and pleats that dramatically redefined the silhouette. Flat surfaces suddenly blossomed into enormous volumes. Nothing old, nothing that has been done before--that's Comme des Garcons' mantra." The Japanese-size Small top will also suit a larger size given its flexibility to stretch like a T-shirt. For styling inspiration pertaining to our other Comme des Garcon listing, this top pairs well with a runway-Look salmon-color bias-cut maxi dress from the SS2000 collection (seen in our additional pic of the FirstView documentation), for which we would suggest adding another three-dimensional element, such as a mis-buttoned shirt as a middle layer or scrunched asymmetrically-pinned part of the lower bodice.

Designer:
Comme des Garçons
Brand:
Comme des Garçons
Dimensions:
Marked Size: S (JP)
Style:
1990s (Of the Period)
Place of Origin:
Japan
Period:
1990-1999
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
Chicago, IL
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU3244224153962

Shop All Comme des Garçons

Comme des Garçons

Comme des Garçons is one of the world’s most innovative and trailblazing fashion brands, helmed by its inimitable founder, Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo (b. 1942), who has a penchant for breaking fashion and cultural norms. The only living designer apart from Yves Saint Laurent to have a retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, Kawakubo has permanently changed fashion with designs that challenge traditional ideas of beauty with a creative and transgressive exuberance.

After studying art and literature at Keio University in Tokyo, Kawakubo worked as a freelance stylist before establishing her own label in 1969. Comme des Garçons — which is also known as CDG — officially launched in 1973, and Kawakubo opened her first store in Tokyo three years later. She has since been instrumental in pioneering many concepts now familiar in contemporary fashion.

One of Kawakubo's most iconic moves was her introduction of androgynous styles (Comme des Garçons means “like the boys” in French) with asymmetrical, twisted silhouettes that envelope the body. While she told the New York Times that the “basics of clothing lie in men’s fashion,” Kawakubo believes in the concept of humanness in clothes (she titled her spring 1995 show “Transcending Gender”).

In the 1970s, when color-blocking was the norm, Kawakubo stuck to her monochromatic color palette dominated by shades of black with uncompromising dedication, although with evocative and powerful use of red and white.

Comme des Garçons is also known for an often shocking take on fashion. Deconstructed tailoring, violently slashed fabric and sculptural shapes are some themes that run through the brand’s collections, but Kawakubo never explains the meaning of her conceptual pieces, which fall somewhere between art and fashion.

Designer Junya Watanabe, who worked alongside Kawakubo for nearly a decade, operates an atelier based within the Tokyo headquarters of Comme des Garçons, and he established a line under Kawakubo's label in the early 1990s. Since then, even though the brand has launched additional lines and more commercial offshoots like PLAY, known by the iconic heart motif with eyes, the premier men’s line Homme Plus and the multilabel Dover Street Market that opened in 2004, the essence of Comme des Garçons remains Kawakubo’s otherworldly and undefinable creations, which are impossible to ignore.

Find vintage Comme des Garçons shirts, jackets, day dresses and other clothing on 1stDibs.