Look 2, jacket and dress
2025 {Smaller is Stronger collection, autumn-winter 2025}
Medium
wool, cupra (lining), plastic and metal (fastenings)
Measurements
(a) 36.0 cm (centre back) 97.0 cm (sleeve length) (jacket)
(b) 162.0 cm (centre back) 46.0 cm (waist, flat) (dress)
Credit Line
Lynn Kaye Rooney Bequest, 2025
Gallery location
Not on display
About this work
Comme des Garçons’ Smaller is Stronger collection marked a return to key concerns in Rei Kawakubo’s practice: tailoring codes, suiting and patternmaking. Over the course of her career, she has exploded Western tailoring traditions through strategies of displacement, fusion, collage and deconstruction. This outfit uses a classic menswear fabric – Prince of Wales check – to create a complex sculptural form that both references and recalibrates outdated gender codes. As a ‘power suit’ of sorts, this work, and the collection’s title, reflect Kawakubo’s critique of corporate dominance and patriarchal systems.