10 December 2025: From 7 December 2025, the NGV design store presents an exclusive Comme des Garçons POCKET shop and range, with both the retail space and product line designed by Rei Kawakubo especially for Melbourne. The NGV X CDG range comprises apparel, accessories and homewares – all emblazoned with bold texts declaring messages of personal strength and self-expression.
The exclusive retail collaboration is in celebration of the National Gallery of Victoria’s world premiere exhibition, Westwood | Kawakubo, which pairs iconic fashion designers Vivienne Westwood and Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons together for the very first time. Through a showstopping display of nearly 150 innovative and ground-breaking designs, Westwood | Kawakubo explores the convergences and divergences between these two self-taught rebels of the fashion world.
Highlights from the exclusive NGV X CDG retail collaboration include classic white cotton jersey t-shirts designed for all genders. Conveying Kawakubo’s sense of rebellion and creative ethos, the t-shirts feature playful typesetting with phrases like “my energy comes from freedom and a rebellious spirit”. The range also includes blue and white long-sleeve collared shirts in pin and pencil stripes, with playful typesetting on the reverse.
Also included in the NGV-exclusive range are tote bags, a soft-touch scarf, a mug, stainless steel tumblers, as well as zip pouch wallets in white, red and black leather finishes. In addition to the NGV X CDG exclusive range, the shop will also include a number of highly coveted Comme des Garçons pieces, including a selection of PLAY Comme des Garçons, Wallet Comme des Garçons, and Comme des Garçons Parfums.
Tony Ellwood AM, Director, NGV, said: ‘We’re proud to be collaborating with Comme des Garçons and Rei Kawakubo on this exclusive retail experience for the NGV design store. From the product design to the in-store experience, Kawakubo-san has imbued every part of this collaboration with her creative spirit and deeply personal worldview – and we can’t wait to share it with our visitors.’
Adrian Joffe, CEO of Comme des Garçons International says: ‘We are beyond excited about this temporary Pocket shop to complement the amazing exhibition that NGV have conceived of and undertaken with passion and expertise. I can say that the special products created exclusively for this shop will undoubtedly incite envy amongst all the staff of Comme des Garçons worldwide and become collector’s items. We are thrilled to create this very special store for the wonderful city of Melbourne, where we started selling CDG more than forty years ago.’