Dress
1995
Future/Colour collection, spring–summer 1996
Medium
wool, nylon
Measurements
93.0 cm (centre back) 35.5 cm (waist, flat)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of Takamasa Takahashi, 2019
Gallery location
Level 3, NGV International
About this work
Junya Watanabe graduated from Bunka Fashion College, Tokyo, in 1984 and began an apprenticeship with Comme des Garçons as a patternmaker. In 1987 he was appointed chief designer of the Tricot knitwear line and later designed for the Comme des Garçons menswear line. In 1992 Watanabe launched his own label under the Comme des Garçons umbrella, ‘Junya Watanabe Comme des Garçons’. Watanabe is known for conceptual, technically complex clothing. This dress highlights his cutting skills: acid-bright bands of contrasting pink fabrics encircle the body in asymmetrical layers. The interplay between solid and sheer is exaggerated by the transparent synthetic, which causes the bands to pucker and distort.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Japan
Inscription
label, centre back neckline, printed in ink on white cotton: JUNYA WATANABE / COMME des GARÇONS,
Accession Number
2019.927
Department
International Fashion and Textiles