Comme des Garçons, meaning “like boys” in French, is a Japanese fashion label founded by Rei Kawakubo in 1969 and is renowned for its avant-garde aesthetic and unconventional silhouettes.
Comme des Garçons became successful in Japan in the 1970s and a menswear line was added in 1978. In 1981 Comme des Garçons's debut show in Paris alongside Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto. It created a splash for its predominant use of black and distressed fabrics and stunned the Western fashion world by defying design convention. Kawakubo’s collection was unlike anything anyone had seen before: The all-black clothing was oversized, deconstructed, shredded, and shapeless.
The Comme des Garçons PLAY line launched in 2002 and is described by the label as "a sign, a symbol, a feeling". The now-iconic logo was designed by artist Polish artist Filip Pagowski, who first contacted Rei Kawakubo in the 1980s with pictures of a performance/fashion show. He subsequently attended a number of men's shows and was cast for the summer 1992 show. The heart image happened simultaneously with, but independently of the creation of the PLAY line.
Designed by Rei Kawakubo, PLAY isn't tied to a particular season and includes graphic T-shirts, knits and accessories. Making use of a simple color palette, the pieces use Pagowski's logo in various ways – from applique patches positioned on the left of the chest to multiple collage arrangements.
Sometimes the best ideas are found among our lost or neglected past, in the places we least expect them to be. We are pleasantly surprised by this spark – a spark that cannot be manufactured or purposely replicated. It must happen naturally.
David Owen and Angela Hill (of IDEA Books) will go to the ends of the Earth to track down rare, and often out-of-print titles that have massive potential to inspire new ideas. Motivated by the next Superbook discovery, they are on a conquest of concepts, an exploration of print.
IDEA’s obscure stream of finds inspire some of the biggest names in photography, design, and writing. Their open-sourced visual inspiration on Instagram gives access to nascent talent of all kinds. They curate thoughtful fodder for the creative seeking their next idea.
The natural, limited nature of IDEA’s stockpile creates an intimate form of ownership among their collectors. Like owning a secret.
Greatness starts with an IDEA. And IDEAs start with inspiration… inspiration that may be found on a dusty bookshelf, tucked away in a book that craves your attention.
Born x Raised uses the medium of clothing to salute the struggle, losses, and pain brought on by gentrification in their hometown of Venice, California.
They aren't designers; they're documentarians, capturing the fonder memories of life in the community that made them the innovative, creative, and unapologetically-honest people they’ve become.
It's homegrown clothing with a message that extends far beyond Venice. They’ve built a wearable platform to tell the stories of underserved communities and cultivated a mindset that gentrification can never displace.
Compression creates culture – a fact that has never been truer than it is for Born x Raised.
Know Wave was founded in 2012 by the Morán Morán contemporary art gallery. Know Wave operates out of New York City, Los Angeles, London, and Tokyo and is an international community platform that promotes expression through music, interviews, publications, and happenings. Know Wave includes an online radio station and a line of graphic-based clothing with the hopes of inspiring dialogue between artists.
