it is - well, was - that time of year: the day when i post the new comme des garçons collection and wax lyrical about it (though, yes, i did indeed miss the last two). let me begin by saying that aw11/12 was what i would consider as being "flawless" - the blues (in some of my favourites shades), the patterns, the golds and those amazing wigs! last season as well, was just brilliant - pure, gentle, something you'd want to wear to your wedding day.. i suppose. this season though - i'm not sure if it's the fact that it's yet to grow on me or something else - i don't like as much. this being said, it does have its brilliant sides, but it's one of those collections that are from the other side of the brand - still typical with their muted colours and pastels - that i just so happen to not enjoy as much. so with this in consideration, i guess you could say the first half (with the exception of those red coats as i am a known red fanatic) falls a bit flat for me - it looks unwearable and even a bit gimmicky when the show comes to those weird full-body rose-patterned suits.. then though, from look #31, it gets simply brilliant for me! you could argue rose patterns are not something original, but nor is black and nor is tulle, but i still enjoy those and so do many other fashion connoisseurs (or not so much). that english rose-iness with a japanese twist looks absolutely stunning to me and if i was a rich girl, na na na na na na na, if i had all the money in the world, i'd definitely invest in one of those beauties! then - the red and violet foil-feel (from afar it looks like foil, but you can see the tiny sequins up-close) dresses - maybe again, not so wearable, but absolutely stunning! a great finale for the show, they kind of succeed to take away the bitter taste left in my mouth after the first half; so i call - victory!



and then we've got the details - once again, the forte of the brand. this season, it's mainly lines - straight and curved and personally for me - those shoes with the lovely white socks (one might call them silly, i'm a hipster - i call them ironic). i know the shoes are nothing special - the brogues look like every other shoe that's come out of the brand in the last few years and the clogs actually look like you could purchase them at opening ceremony and the likes, but that's what i like - they're simple, consistent throughout the whole collection, though also with a sort of coherent "evolution". simply put, enjoyable.



images via vogue.it

i usually tend to get those crazy little surprises when i buy cheap designer clothes off of ebay. whoever follows me on twitter knows about the flower-patterned junya watanabe dress i bought a while ago.. ah, yes, i did buy it! to be quite honest, as it wasn't stated, i didn't even know the collection it came from, but upon receiving it, i found a little "AD2000-" written on its tag. which lead me to assume it was either AW2000 or SS2001. upon closer inspection, also known as "searching for the collections in google", i think i could say it's from AW2000, as it was not in the SS2001 show, nor did it even fit with the overall theme.

aw00 though, is also the collection of that magnificence up these, also known as "one of my favourite pieces of clothing/art to ever exist". and i'm not exaggerating! i really wish i could see it in person..

The ruff's accelerated inflation to shoulder-wide dimension in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries did not anticipate Junya Watanabe's torso-encompassing rendering of the style. To accomplish the extraordinary scale of his ruff, Watanabe required a polyester chiffon that could hold its shape. No silk organza was able to do so. Despite all its reliance on technological innovation for the fabric, this design, from Watanabe's "Techno Couture" collection, was stitched together by hand. (via The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

the dress i own is made of polyester and one might argue about to what extent exactly you can consider it a "quality material", but i do believe the dress looks amazing and pretty different. it feels and looks great and honestly, the blend is like i've never felt before! makes me wonder how the ruffed dress might feel! and back on the topic of the ruffed dress, according to skin + bones (a book i believe tavi wrote a review on and that i would like to but am yet to own), it bears a great resemblance to the foreign office architects yokoama international port terminal. if i have to be honest, i've yet to read more into the matter, but i guess you (and me, both) could see the resemblance just by looking the pictures.. and honestly, it kind of makes me want to buy that book more now.

yes, i did just wax lyrical about a dress that i did not even show. in case anyone is interested, here it is! i guess i must take some pictures wearing it, as it's not really fashion blogger-y of me not to.. all in good time, all in good time!

so comme des garçons ss11. i know i'm supposed to be the comme-obsessed, kawakubo-can-do-no-wrong-defending person that i am but i feel it's sort of.. underwhelming? i do get a '90s (or even earlier) comme vibe, mixed with some ss07 and even some junya, and i also know i'm probably going to end up loving it once i see it live or even see more details online but for now i can't say i'm really all that impressed. the last two collections- this one and aw10, respectively- were pretty "miss" for me, mostly thanks to the "helping hand" of the two before that that are probably some of my favorite comme collections ever (sheer, colour, leather, colour, crazy wigs, colour- what more can one ask for?). maybe i'm getting too used to colourful clothes that weren't really in the repertory when the brand was founded and should remind myself who and why started the whole カラス族 (karasu zoku, crow tribe) trend. i love the leather detailing, the shoes and some of the double jackets but i don't see myself obsessing over how much i need to get something from this season. except maybe that gakuran jacket, because gakurans are pretty intense. and speaking of intense, emily at yohji's show? there's some really weird stuff happening lately but eh, who am i to judge!
eta: okay, still not flailing over it but the details make some of the clothes really interesting, thus making me want them. oh, kawakubo!