COMME des GARÇONS
WHAT IS COMME DES GARÇONS?
COMME des GARÇONS is a Japanese clothing brand founded by the self-taught fashion designer Rei Kawakubo in Tokyo in 1969, now based in Tokyo, Japan, and in Palace Vendôme in Paris, France. The brand has several sub-labels, including COMME des GARÇONS PLAY, recognizable from the iconic heart logo, and menswear-focused COMME des GARÇONS HOMME, and PARFUM.
In 1981, COMME des GARÇONS showcased its collections for the first time during Paris Fashion Week and opened its first store in Paris, introducing the luxury brand to the West. The Japanese flagship store is in Aoyama, Tokyo’s high fashion district and the Paris flagship store is in Rue Saint-Honoré, Paris, France, with stores in London, New York, and Berlin.
WHO IS THE CEO OF COMME DES GARÇONS?
The current COMME des GARÇONS CEO is Adrian Joffe, who has been in the company since 1987. Adrian Joffe married the founder Rei Kawakubo in 1992.
WHO IS REI KAWAKUBO?
Rei Kawakubo is the founder of the iconic Japanese fashion brand COMME des GARÇONS. She was born in Tokyo on October 11th, 1942, and started the label in 1969. Kawakubo currently lives in Tokyo, often traveling to Paris to visit COMME des GARÇONS headquarters in the Place Vendôme Paris.
WHO OWNS COMME DES GARÇONS?
COMME des GARÇONS is owned by its founder, Japanese fashion designer Rei Kawakubo.
WHY IS COMME DES GARÇONS SO POPULAR?
COMME des GARÇONS is known for its avant-garde designs and unconventional silhouettes, introducing deconstructed fabrics, asymmetric cuts, and monochrome colorways throughout its collections. The founder and head designer Rei Kawakubo pioneered conceptual fashion, earning a reputation for anti-fashion and gender-fluid aesthetics.
The luxury label has collaborated with Fred Perry, Levi’s, Moncler, Lacoste, Louis Vuitton, and streetwear pioneers Supreme and BAPE, among others. On the footwear front, COMME des GARÇONS is one of the most collaborated luxury brands, teaming up with top sneaker brands from Converse, Nike, Salomon, ASICS, and Vans.
WHAT IS DOVER STREET MARKET?
Rei Kawakubo and her husband Adrian Joffe, also the current CEO of COMME des GARÇONS, founded the multi-retailer Dover Street Market in 2004 in London. Dover Street Market is COMME des GARÇON’s approach to a department store with a lot of focus on visual design in the store.
Other Dover Street Market locations include Tokyo, Beijing, Singapore, New York, and Los Angeles. Dover Street Market was the first to internationally stock the Russian designer Gosha Rubchinskiy.
WHAT DOES COMME DES GARÇONS MEAN?
COMME des GARÇONS is an expression in French that means “like boys” in direct translation. It’s been speculated the name was inspired by the song “Tous les garçons et les filles” (1962) by Françoise Hardy.
HOW TO PRONOUNCE COMME DES GARÇONS?
The phonetic spelling of COMME des GARÇONS is like comb-de-garr-sawn; alternatively, here you can find a video of how to pronounce Comme des Garçons.
DO COMME DES GARÇONS RUN BIG OR SMALL?
The general consensus seems that COMME des GARÇONS clothing tends to run small, so it is often recommended to go a size up.
HOW DO COMME DES GARÇONS SHOES FIT?
Converse COMME des GARÇONS PLAY sneakers tend to run bigger than usual, similar to Converse sneakers. As a result, it’s recommended to go half a size down than your standard size when purchasing the shoes.
WHY IS COMME DES GARÇONS SO EXPENSIVE?
COMME des GARÇONS is a luxury clothing brand; the brand’s collections are showcased during Paris Fashion Week. Due to its long-standing history and high-end quality designs, its clothing comes with a heftier price tag than other clothing brands.
WHAT IS COMME DES GARÇONS PLAY?
Sub-label of CdG,COMME des GARÇONS PLAY, is targeted toward the younger consumer, created in 2002. The brand focuses on low-key apparel, including t-shirts, shirts, basic long-sleeved jersey t-shirts, and hoodies.
CdG PLAY line is known for its beloved COMME des GARÇONS heart logo, often featured on apparel and Converse COMME des GARÇONS PLAY sneakers. A row of celebs, including Rihanna, Pharell Williams, and Kanye, have worn PLAY, which you can buy on their online store, Dover Street Market, or other resellers.
WHAT IS CDG HOMME PLUS?
COMME des GARÇONS HOMME PLUS is the mainline menswear collection designed by the brand’s founder Rei Kawakubo. It is separate from the sub-label COMME des GARÇONS HOMME, focused on streetwear — a more adventurous line than the classic CdG HOMME PLUS.
WHERE CAN I BUY COMME DES GARÇONS?
You can buy Comme des GARÇONS directly at their online shop.
1969
Designer Rei Kawakubo, then working as a stylist, started making clothes under the label COMME des GARÇONS.
1973
The company was officially founded in 1973 as KK COMME des GARÇONS in Minato Tokyo, initially as a womenswear label.
1978
COMME des GARÇONS Homme – a classic menswear line, was introduced next to womenswear collections.
1981
COMME des GARÇONS debuted its first collection in Paris and, in the same year, opened its first boutique in Paris.
1982
COMME des GARÇONS SA (a French business unit) was established, based at Place Vendôme, Paris.
1984
Junya Watanabe (one of the current designers) started an apprenticeship as a patternmaker at COMME des GARÇONS.
COMME des GARÇONS Homme Plus – a progressive fashion line for men, was created.
1987
Adrian Joffe, the current COMME des GARÇONS CEO, joins COMME des GARÇONS.
Junya Watanabe became chief designer of the Tricot knitwear line, later designing the COMME des GARÇONS Homme label.
1988
A new sub-brand, COMME des GARÇONS SHIRT – a casual, more colorful sportswear collection is launched.
1992
Joffe and Kawakubo got married in Paris in 1992. While Joffe is based in Paris, Kawakubo lives near CDG’s flagship store in Tokyo.
Junya Watanabe started his own clothing line under “Junya Watanabe COMME des GARÇONS.”
1994
The first COMME des GARÇONS perfume was released in partnership with licensee Puig Group in Spain under COMME des GARÇONS Parfums SA based in Paris.
1999
Nike unveils the “Alpha Project Zoom” in Japan, collaborating with Junya Watanabe on a row of exciting designs. From 1999 to 2008, COMME des GARÇONS designer Junya Watanabe X Nike teamed up for several innovative collaborations.
2000
Junya Watanabe linked up again with Nike to release a unique futuristic reconstructed sneaker in a gray and black monochrome color scheme — Junya Watanabe x Nike Air Kukini.
2002
A more casual clothing line COMME des GARÇONS PLAY is launched, featuring the iconic red heart logo.
2004
COMME des GARÇONS CEO Adrian Joffe launched the first Dover Street Market location in London.
COMME des GARÇONS 2 MAN perfume was released, a fragrance for men made by Mark Buxton.
eYe COMME des GARÇONS Junya Watanabe x Nike Vandal was released in 2004.
2008
COMME des GARÇONS worked with H&M to launch a budget collection sold in H&M retail stores.
The final and one of the most unexpected COMME des GARÇONS Nike collaborations is released — Junya Watanabe MAN COMME des GARÇONS x Nike Dunk.
2009
The brand launched COMME des GARÇONS BLACK with lower price points and boutiques in Paris, Amsterdam, and Seoul.
2010
COMME des GARÇONS website was launched in 2010.
2012
COMME des GARÇONS opens a flagship store in Berlin, Germany.
CdG teams up with Nike again, this time on a Dover Street Market X Nike Air Force 1.
2015
COMME des GARÇONS teamed up with Converse for the first time featuring a new take on Converse Chuck Taylor 70s. The Converse COMME des GARÇONS sneaker was an instant hit and was quickly sold out.
2018
After the previous successful collaboration, Converse and COMME des GARÇONS were rereleased in limited numbers in 2018 and 2019 and sold through Converse’s online shop.
2020
German COMME des GARÇONS brand opens an online shop to serve German-speaking countries, adding to the Berlin flagship store that opened in 2012.
2021
After debuting a Nike collab for the SS21 collection, COMME des GARÇONS Homme Plus X Nike teamed up again on a ’90s silhouette in the Nike Air Carnivore.
2022
Instead of the usual CdG x Converse Chuck Taylor, the brand dropped Converse x COMME des GARÇONS Play One Star with black and white colorways.
COMME des GARÇONS’s Air Max 91 CdG X Nike collab drops as part of the HOMME PLUS FW22 menswear collection.
New Balance 550 COMME des GARÇONS collab drops featuring two monochrome New Balance 550’s.
CdG teams up with Salomon on platform sneakers.
CdG FW22 collection gets BAPE treatment featuring camo print.
