Author
James Darton
Contributing Editor
Rei Kawakubo outraged the European fashion establishment when she sent monolithic slabs of distressed black shapes down the runway at Comme Des Garçons’ 1981 Paris debut. The shocked boos that greeted her did little to curb Rei’s ambitions or fierce commitment to challenging the conventions of beauty that ruled high fashion up to that point. Now a global empire comprised of numerous genre-bending department stores and even more numerous CDG spin-off lines, Rei has repeatedly turned to florals over the years to express her twisted, often slyly humorous take on romanticism and other themes.
Below are a selection of images taken predominantly from Comme des Garçons’ mainline womenswear and menswear (Homme Plus) collections. In typical CDG style the florals add a further confusing dimension to her technically impressive, culturally subversive designs.
![1 Floom Magazine Florals In Fashion Blogspot 2](https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_florals_in_fashion_blogspot_2.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=1f2871a475c694af23bd43fafb071a62 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_florals_in_fashion_blogspot_2.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=38bd952d61191c4977cc2b292078ba5b 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_florals_in_fashion_blogspot_2.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=e405e84c54a3117ae62f85690629d6ce 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_florals_in_fashion_blogspot_2.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=29b147b543828c96251fb2f2af6893d8 400w)
![1 Floom Magazine Florals In Fashion Commmes Des Garcones Ss12 Exshoesme 1](https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_florals_in_fashion_commmes_des_garcones_ss12_exshoesme_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=d1d0271e0f0c154677840c3ab9591a83 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_florals_in_fashion_commmes_des_garcones_ss12_exshoesme_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=3b30fd8af5e293e2c73aaa3b4fb88bf8 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_florals_in_fashion_commmes_des_garcones_ss12_exshoesme_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=a25ffd855f6831620ac0f985c5a19a5b 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_florals_in_fashion_commmes_des_garcones_ss12_exshoesme_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=ceeac1e4d9565e67dd52aa4bde3d8584 400w)
![1 Floom Magazine Florals In Fashion Commes Des Garcones Dazed 1](https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_florals_in_fashion_commes_des_garcones_dazed_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=de4c1110184cf79af23ccad92f5ac3e1 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_florals_in_fashion_commes_des_garcones_dazed_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=ef890992f7d6711d821d0bb9b317bcae 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_florals_in_fashion_commes_des_garcones_dazed_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=2ce275a9ad28efadcddf33420d01ec3f 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_florals_in_fashion_commes_des_garcones_dazed_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=6126b226f9f5b7de6484236eb84146d0 400w)
![1 Floom Magazine Florals In Fashion Commes De Garcones Vogue Italia Radicalfashion Ivomilan 1](https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_florals_in_fashion_commes_de_garcones_vogue_italia_radicalfashion_ivomilan_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=869b5eba65ffdba078a9ae837b2dbb1a 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_florals_in_fashion_commes_de_garcones_vogue_italia_radicalfashion_ivomilan_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=2a796e913c9822baeffb49add2260b06 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_florals_in_fashion_commes_de_garcones_vogue_italia_radicalfashion_ivomilan_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=dfad53dee6497b372a1235e7a2bd8451 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_florals_in_fashion_commes_de_garcones_vogue_italia_radicalfashion_ivomilan_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=f325d07e3daf6173b30a117802a25509 400w)
![1 Floom Magazine Florals In Fashion Commes Des Garcones Amazonaws 1](https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_florals_in_fashion_commes_des_garcones_amazonaws_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=5e38460fa7d2f858280216c790597de4 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_florals_in_fashion_commes_des_garcones_amazonaws_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=d055b5ecfded6143d46620052597f224 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_florals_in_fashion_commes_des_garcones_amazonaws_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=73e4e5f5fba62aa68a5fc7d1ea37f87a 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_florals_in_fashion_commes_des_garcones_amazonaws_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=e889502230b8e7f159ee07278c2a15ce 400w)
Image credits:
Herringbone & Houndstooth
Exshoesme
Dazed
Radical Fashion
Amazonaws