Printed Matter by COMME des GARÇONS
A few months ago I bought a handful of issues of Relax magazine on eBay. (Based on the sender’s address I believe they came from the archives of Berlin’s Lodown magazine.) Discontinued in 2006 – the single issue comeback ten years later excluded – Relax was the essential Japanese lifestyle and pop-culture magazine informing its readers about new developments in streetwear, music, and art. If you flip through some of the issues, you’ll recognize many appearances by people who are regarded as highly influential figures in today’s popular street culture.
In issue 92 from 2004, I found a compendium article which showed all printed matter produced by Rei Kawakubo’s COMME des GARÇONS up until that point including detailed credits about all the creative collaborators involved. And even in 2004, there was a whole lot of material. From ads and catalogues to mail-order brochures, seasons greetings cards and even flyer designs for artist’s shows from when the CdG Aoyama store was also used as an exhibition space. Unfortunately, I don’t speak Japanese which means that the experience was visual only for me. That’s why I decided to find out more about my favourites from the article as well as some additional ads or campaigns which were released in the years after the article was published. Of course, there are lots of other great CdG ads out there for their numerous sub-labels and projects. The ones shown here just happen to the ones which specifically spoke to me. They showed me that ad imagery has the potential to manifest a coherent brand identity and to demonstrate an elevated taste level instead of only trying to sell you clothes with over-retouched photography of uncomfortably handsome models.
Inoue Tsuguya
Some of the earlier advertising imagery was created under the creative art direction of graphic designer Inoue Tsuguya. As far as I can tell, his agency Beans Co., Ltd. was responsible for all printed matter coming from CdG from the late 80s to the late 90s including ads, seasons greetings cards, mailings and the infamous Six magazines. Tsuguya’s art direction with a focus on graphic design resulted in ads which mostly did not show any clothes but rather a more or less abstract image with little to no correlation to clothing or fashion. This quite counterintuitive approach resulted in some of the comparatively most interesting and artistic ad imagery I have ever seen.
The two ads for CdG’s Spring/Summer 1989 collection above are perfect examples of ads which are probably not identified as an ad for a fashion house by someone unfamiliar with the brand. Pretty unusual for the time I guess – maybe even ahead of their time.
Collier Schorr
Collier Schorr for COMME des GARÇONS, 2006
Source: hgts Tumblr
While Collier Schorr shot an array of ads for several CdG labels over the years, this CdG SHIRT ad from (presumably) the mid-2000s is my favourite. The cut-out and collage style refers to her photo book Jens F. which showcases the process of the artist’s intimate work with two models over several years. Schorr calls this kind of sketchbook her own antithesis of photography by intentionally showing an imperfect product. This raw and intimate approach – not unlike the meticulous and revealing methods of shirt construction used by CdG – was translated onto a CdG SHIRT ad.
Katsuhiro Otomo
For mail-order pamphlets promoting the Spring/Summer 2013 collection, Rei Kawakubo created several mash-up collages of the work by manga-god Katsuhiro Otomo and old images by the Nobrow Press publishing house. Kawakubo mainly “sampled” drawings from Akira – probably Otomo’s most prominent body of work –and recoloured them to customize these drawings for herself. They were also displayed in CdG stores. As a huge fan of the Akira movie (to be honest, I have yet to attack the beast that is the over 2500-page manga) I have no idea how this collaboration flew under my radar until recently.
One could argue that the pamphlet covers basically are branding slaps reminiscent of a certain Tumblr-era in which it seemed tasteful to photoshop the logos of your favourite brands onto “cool” photographs you stole somewhere online. For me personally though, having these two creative giants coming together and giving mutual co-signs is really nice to see.
Collage of works by Katsuhiro Otomo and Richard Hogg by Rei Kawakubo
Source: Juxtapoz
Roe Ethridge
COMME des GARÇONS SHIRT 2008 Campaign Imagery
Source: i-D
A similar accusation of apparent logo-slapping on someone else’s visuals could be brought forward against CdG SHIRT’s usage of Roe Ethridge’s gracious pigeon photographs for one of their 2008 campaigns. Maybe, also Jeff Staple was even a little bit mad, seeing someone else using the bird he should have had the cultural trademark for after his Nike SB Dunk release two years prior. In my opinion, it is another example of the distinct taste and specific eye for talent Rei Kawakubo – or whoever art directs the different campaigns across CdG brands – has. Additionally, the ad presumably exposed his photographs to a new audience of people who never saw his work before. I myself would probably have never delved into Ethridge’s portfolio if it was not for those pigeons. Also, in Ethridge’s case, the relationship between artist and brand was maintained over the years. In 2010 he published a print called Comme des Garçons Scarf with Glass Plate and in 2016 he shot a CdG editorial for DAZED Magazine for example. Again, call it lazy, call it “anti-advertising” (whether you say that benevolently or not) or whatever; ultimately, the ad simply looks god damn beautiful.
Sources:
https://en.vogue.fr/vogue-hommes/fashion/diaporama/the-very-best-of-comme-des-garcons-campaigns/26293#campagne-comme-des-garcons-chemises_image1
https://www.complex.com/style/2013/01/the-25-most-awesome-comme-des-garons-ads/
https://www.vfiles.com/vfiles/18688/media/689305
http://www.anothermag.com/fashion-beauty/7192/jeff-horsley-on-comme-des-garcons-archive
http://www.thirdlooks.com/2012/12/comme-des-garcons-print-ad-archive/
https://i-d.vice.com/en_us/article/zmx3jy/is-it-a-fashion-ad-if-it-doesnt-show-any-clothing
http://tdctokyo.org/eng/?award=09_tsuguya-inoue
http://tdctokyo.org/eng/?member=inouetsuguya#prettyPhoto
http://dento-house.com/en/designer/tsuguya-inoue/
https://www.juxtapoz.com/news/katsuhiro-otomo-nobrow-for-comme-des-garcons/
http://www.comicsbeat.com/katsuhiro-otomo-nobrow-and-japanese-fashion-house-comme-des-garcons-collaborate/
https://www.moma.org/collection/works/138514
https://www.artforum.com/print/200308/all-systems-go-the-art-of-roe-ethridge-5488
Thumbnail image: COMME des GARÇONS Spring/Summer 1989 Advertising.
Source: Tokyo TDC
