Look 1, coat dress
2022 {Black Rose collection, autumn-winter 2022}
Medium
wool (quilt, felt), polyester cotton, polyester (felt) and plastic (fastenings)
Measurements
152.0 cm (centre back) 64.0 cm (sleeve length)
Credit Line
Gift of the artist, 2025
Gallery location
Special Exhibitions Gallery
Ground Level, NGV International
About this work
Presented in Tokyo rather than Paris, Kawakubo’s Black Rose collection opened
with this enveloping, sculptural ensemble. Ostensibly a coat dress of exaggerated
proportions, it is distinguished by a large cutaway below the waist. Raw seams frame thick panels of felted grey fabric that burst from within, revealing the garment’s inner structure while maintaining its silhouette. In the 1990s, Kawakubo, alongside Belgian designer Martin Margiela, was at the forefront of the deconstructionist movement, exploring ‘unfinished’ garments and the reconfiguration of established dressmaking conventions.