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Shoes

COMME DES GARÇONS, Tokyo (fashion house), Rei KAWAKUBO (designer)
Shoes
 1985
Bias Cutting collection, spring summer 1986

Medium
leather, rubber

Measurements
(a-b) 8.0 × 8.0 × 23.0 cm (shoes) (each)

Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of Takamasa Takahashi and David Tune, 2025
© Comme des Garçons

Reproduction requests

Gallery location
Not on display

 

About this work

This collection is notable as one of the first instances where Kawakubo created a silhouette that followed the natural lines of the female body. Much like the early twentieth-century French couturier Madeleine Vionnet, who used bias cutting in a revolutionary way to recast the relationship between body and fabric, here Kawakubo uses the technique to explore ideas of irregularity and asymmetry.

Artwork Details

Place/s of Execution
Japan

Inscription
(a) printed (vertically) in gold ink on insole: COMME des GARCONS / MADE IN JAPAN
(b) printed (vertically) in gold ink on insole: COMME des GARCONS / MADE IN JAPAN

Accession Number
2025.311.a-b

Department
International Fashion and Textiles

Explore the collection

Glove purse MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA, Paris (fashion house); Martin MARGIELA (designer) Bag (UNITED STATES) Gloves ENGLAND Cap (THE NETHERLANDS) Flounce (FLANDERS) Quilt top UNITED STATES, Bucks County, Pennsylvania Cap (FRANCE) Coif (BRETON) Gloves (ENGLAND) Bow tie YVES SAINT LAURENT, Paris (manufacturer) Bag MAXTEX, London Bonnet (THE NETHERLANDS) Infant's cap (ENGLAND) Cap BRUSSELS Gloves (FRANCE) Bow tie YVES SAINT LAURENT, Paris (manufacturer) Fan CHINESE Part of quilt (ITALY) Gloves FRANCE PIECE OF FABRIC Lady's bag (ENGLAND) Paper patterns in envelope Pierre CARDIN Boots Bag (FRANCE) Border (ITALY) Border (FRANCE) Shoe covers COMME DES GARÇONS, Tokyo (fashion house); Rei KAWAKUBO (designer) Queen Summer (ENGLAND) Clutch bag (ENGLAND) Gloves (GERMANY)