The Genius of Rei Kawakubo: The Woman Who Founded Comme Des Garçons - by Terry Newman (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

'The Genius of Rei Kawakubo: The woman who founded Comme des Garçons' celebrates a designer that is revered as the most avant-garde and experimental in the world.

"My approach is simple. It is nothing other than what I am thinking at the time I make each piece of clothing...The result is something that other people decide." - Rei Kawakibo, Interview Magazine, 2008

"Kawakubo's will matches that of Coco Chanel and her influence goes perhaps even further; she is a designer who sees a bigger picture and has impacted the very shape of fashion, moving its foundations." - Terry Newman

The Genius of Rei Kawakubo: The woman who founded Comme des Garçons celebrates a designer that is revered as the most avant-garde and experimental in the world. Having created a fashion label that is a global inspiration and one of the few independent brands still run by its founder, Kawakubo infuses her designs with the philosophies of Mu-Ma and Wabi-Sabi to create clothes that are truly special.

Beginning with Kawakubo's early days when she began developing her brand in Japan, The Genius of Rei Kawakubo: The woman who founded Comme des Garçons goes on to look at her principles of anti-fashion and the art of imperfection, including seminal design details from some of her key collections. With chapters on Kawakubo's collaborations with other designers, her shops, perfumes, and lots more, this book presents the brand and its founder in all its glorious detail.

Written by Terry Newman - the bestselling author of Marilyn Monroe Style - we learn just how canny a businesswoman and creative an artist Kawakubo is and how, through various avenues and alliances, she has created a vast Comme des Garçons empire.

About the Author

Terry Newman worked in the fashion industry for more than 20 years, both as an editor at i-D, Attitude, and Self Service and as a contributing writer for newspapers including the Guardian, the Independent, the Times, and the Sunday Times. She has also written and presented fashion programs in the United Kingdom for Channel 4 (She's Gotta Have It and Slave). The author of Harry Styles and the Clothes He Wears (ACC), Legendary Authors and the Clothes They Wore and Legendary Artists and the Clothes They Wore (Harper Design), she has contributed to books including i-D's Fashion Now, Fashion Now 2, and Soul i-D. She currently lectures at the University for the Creative Arts in Epsom, England and lives in London with her husband and two children.