Hat
1986
Bonding collection, autumn-winter 1986–87
Medium
wool (felt)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of Takamasa Takahashi and David Tune, 2025
Gallery location
Level 3, NGV International
About this work
Rei Kawakubo’s runway collections of the early 1980s introduced a revolutionary new aesthetic to fashion. In contrast to the prevailing trend of body-conscious, figure-hugging styles and high glamour, the garments designed by Kawakubo were unorthodox and intentionally distressed. She disregarded symmetry and perfect fit, instead creating clothes that enveloped and concealed the body. By experimenting with fabrics, form, pattern-cutting and construction, Kawakubo challenged the fundamentals of fashion, seeing her work as ‘expressions of [the] unfinished, imbalance, fusion and elimination’.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Japan
Inscription
label, inner brim, woven gold coloured thread on black acetate: COMME des GARCONS
Accession Number
2025.314
Department
International Fashion and Textiles