COMME des GARÇONS will literally make 2021 unforgettable, by printing the year right on the chest of your sweater. It's a little cheesy but, then again, CdG's diffusion fare is almost disarmingly earnest.
A lot of the clothing that COMME des GARÇONS makes its bones on is approachable fare, the kind of simple stuff that's occasionally the butt of the joke on social media (see: CdG PLAY Chucks).
At the same time, the CdG diffusion lines are also responsible for some of the Japanese brand's most desirable product.
Stüssy's latest latest collaboration with the ultra-simple CDG label, for instance, was as coveted as the previous affairs and the line's Vans sneakers are always in-demand.
This new drop doesn't actually involve COMME sub-labels like PLAY, BLACK, or CDG, though, but it fills the same niche. Here, monochrome sweatshirts and oversized T-shirts are emblazoned with handwritten branding that akin to that which graced classic CdG promotions and some of the illustrative products designed by Rei Kawakubo herself.
Specifically, these illustrations and the accompanying "2021" are apparently a reference to the 2021 COMME des GARÇONS advertising campaign, but you'd have had to either been in Japan or purchased a Japanese magazine (SWITCH, perhaps?) that the imagery actually ran in.
But more than anything else, these garments are just some cheekily literal mementos to remember the year. Nothing crazy.
Really, the most interesting part about this drop isn't their design: its that they're indicative of CdG's merchandising prowess. They're only available for about $75 each at one or two Japanese COMME des GARÇONS stores, anyways.
Beyond the perfumes and wallets, beyond the Dover Street Market outposts and the brands that it manages, beyond even the infamously unorthodox mainline clothing, COMME des GARÇONS is capable of turning out merch as well as anyone else.
