Rei Kawakubo Enlists Gucci And Burberry For Comme Des Garçons’ Holiday Capsule

Comme des Garçons’ Christmas campaign is all about inclusivity and “how people can come together and work together,” according to Adrian Joffe, president of Comme des Garçons International and chief executive at Dover Street Market.

Of course, when you're Joffe and Rei Kawakubo – the husband and wife duo behind the brand empire – the list of collaborators to call on is perhaps lengthier than most. And so, Kawakubo enlisted Gucci’s Alessandro Michele, Burberry’s Riccardo Tisci, John Galliano, Jean Paul Gaultier, Simone Rocha, Craig Green, Marine Serre, Walter Van Beirendonck and Stüssy to help conceive the Comme holiday capsule.

The brief for each creative was to supply an “iconic” piece of clothing, an accessory or design fragment that would enable Kawakubo to develop a holiday item from it. Within the nine-piece festive offering, Burberry’s signature check scarf becomes a charged neck tie that reads “My Energy Comes From My Freedom”; Jean Paul Gaultier’s Breton stripes are splashed with red polka dots; and Stüssy’s surfer logo is distorted to bold effect. The redesign of Maison Margiela’s Aids charity T-shirt, meanwhile, is the first time the brand has ever collaborated with another fashion label.

“We have always enjoyed the synergies of CDG-style collaborations, which is not about brainstorming and back-and-forth with the other party, but about trust and respect,” Joffe told WWD about the process. “Rei does not enjoy two captains on a ship. So, we either leave it to them or ask that they leave it to her. The nine brands were very happy to leave it to her this time.”

The edit, which is priced from £195-£390, continues two decades of unique Christmas capsules from the brand. In the past, Kawakubo has looked to Disney’s Frozen and seasonal film favourite The Grinch for inspiration, as well as creating sell-out garments in the dotty motifs and bold colour schemes that are synonymous with the label. The displays that feature in Kawakubo’s boutiques in Japan, and that will be rolled out to Comme des Garçons' and Dover Street Market stores from December 6, are also decidedly less Yuletide, and in line with Kawakubo and Joffe's own vision.