1983
COMME DES GARÇONS
Dress
1983
Comme des Garçons, Japanese, founded 1969
Black rayon jacquard
Purchase, Friends of The Costume Institute Gifts, 2017 (2017.217)
2008
MARC JACOBS
Dress
Spring/summer 2008
Marc Jacobs, American, born 1963
Pink silk chiffon overlaid with black silk chiffon
embroidered with black glass bugle beads
Gift of Marc Jacobs, in honor of Harold Koda, 2016 (2016.635a, b)
The explosion onto the Paris fashion scene of Tokyo-based designers Issey Miyake in the 1970s and Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto in 1981 irrevocably altered Western perceptions of style and beauty. From her first Commes des Garçons collection in Paris, Kawakubo countered prevailing fashion aesthetics with her austere creative vision. Her oversize, seemingly shapeless clothes of dark fabrics that were twisted, tied, and punctuated with holes opposed the brightly colored, body-conscious styles of the time. This deconstructed dress of black jacquard is draped on the bias with tear-like openings that reveal the contrasting lustrous and matte sides of the fabric.
Like Kawakubo, Marc Jacobs has consistently challenged the conventions of fashion. For his spring/summer 2008 collection, the designer reversed the traditional runway presentation—opening with his finale bow, proceeding to eveningwear, and closing with daywear. Ensembles featured trompe l’oeil motifs of undress. This evening dress consists of a sheer nude-pink slip overlaid with draped panels of embroidered black chiffon. The garment’s bias draping recalls the sensuality of 1930s gowns, while its deconstructed state makes it seemingly primed to fall off the wearer at any moment and eliminates connotations of glossy perfection, thereby subverting the period’s ideals of sexuality.
Like Kawakubo, Marc Jacobs has consistently challenged the conventions of fashion. For his spring/summer 2008 collection, the designer reversed the traditional runway presentation—opening with his finale bow, proceeding to eveningwear, and closing with daywear. Ensembles featured trompe l’oeil motifs of undress. This evening dress consists of a sheer nude-pink slip overlaid with draped panels of embroidered black chiffon. The garment’s bias draping recalls the sensuality of 1930s gowns, while its deconstructed state makes it seemingly primed to fall off the wearer at any moment and eliminates connotations of glossy perfection, thereby subverting the period’s ideals of sexuality.