For immediate release: 2 March 2015
RED
Comme des Garçons: innovation, provocation
Live Archives, 81-83, Mare Street, London E8 4RG
20-27 March, 12.00-19.00 daily
Live Archives present RED Comme des Garçons: innovation, provocation, an
exhibition dedicated to the radical spirit of Japanese fashion house Comme
des Garçons, created by exhibition-maker Jeffrey Horsley.
Comme des Garçons has been a leading force in fashion since its first Paris
shows in the early 1980s. At the helm of the house is founder Rei Kawakubo,
designer, businesswoman and head of an international fashion empire whose
stores include Dover Street Market (DSM) London, DSM New York and DSM
Ginza, Tokyo. Continually at the vanguard of contemporary fashion,
experimentation, innovation and provocation are integral components of the
Comme des Garçons brand.
RED draws on exemplary pieces from the Live Archives collection ranging
from 1994 to 2012. The selection has been compiled to illustrate Comme des
Garçons’ radical approach to fashion design and includes items that reflect
the brand’s key aesthetic codes. Garments on show include an asymmetric
dress that incorporates pannier and bustle shapes, which demonstrates how
Rei Kawakubo plays with the sculptural form of the body, and trousers with an
attached half-skirt of flamenco flounces that reflect how the designer twists
fashion’s gender stereotypes.
Comme des Garçons’ reputation for invention also extends to its store
interiors, marketing material and runway shows. For the Mode2001 fashion
festival (held in Antwerp, 2001 and organised by designer Walter Van
Beirendonk) Rei Kawakubo devised five radical re-stagings of the Comme des
Garçons autumn/winter 2001-2002 show in venues around Antwerp. As
exhibition-maker Jeff Horsley explains, ‘Walter Van Beirendonk and Dirk Van
Saene created an exhibition on Gabrielle Chanel and thought it would be
interesting to collaborate with a contemporary designer whose work echoes
Chanel’s iconoclastic attitude. They approached Rei Kawakubo and she
contributed five “statements”’.
RED references the second of these five presentations, which was set in the
Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Antwerp, against a backdrop of masterpieces by
Rubens and Rembrandt. All of the light sources in the venue were covered
with red gel so that everything appeared either black or shades of red. Jeff
Horsley comments, ‘this was an incredible thing for a designer to do to her
work. Colour is such an important aspect of design, so obliterating it was quite
an extraordinary step to take’. RED appropriates this technique, removing all
natural-coloured light from the exhibition space to create an uncompromising,
evocative exhibition setting.
Here we include a short para about Jim’s images and the limited edition print.
Here we include a line about the live feed.
RED has been created by award-winning exhibition-maker Jeffrey Horsley.
Originally trained in theatre design, Jeff has extensive experience of
producing exhibitions covering fashion, contemporary art and design,
architecture, archaeology and natural history. His specialist area is exhibiting
fashion and he also writes on the presentation of fashion in museums.
ENDS
About Live Archives
At the heart of Live Archives’ activity is a collection of directional modern and
contemporary fashion that provides a unique reference source for the fashion
industry; stylists, fashion editors, designers and design houses. Live Archives
also generates a programme of cultural and commercial events that include
exhibitions and promotional platforms for emerging designers.
Press Information
For further information, high-resolution press images or to arrange interviews
please contact:
Press Office: +44 XXX XXX XXX mailto:press@live-archives.com
Press Images
RED Comme des Garçons: innovation, provocation
Image reference no. RED01
Image reference no. RED02
Image reference no. RED03
Image reference no. RED04
Credit line
All images should be credited:
RED Comme des Garçons: innovation, provocation at Live Archives. Image ©
James Ari King.