Few designers collapse the boundaries between fashion and art as audaciously as Rei Kawakubo, the visionary force behind Comme des Garçons. In 2017, the Metropolitan Museum of Art mounted a landmark retrospective of her work, Rei Kawakubo / Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between, spotlighting the designer’s relentless pursuit of ambiguity, contradiction, and reinvention. This week’s featured kimono-inspired ensemble, however, was photographed as part of the exhibit Kimono Style, featuring items from the collection of John C. Webber.
Continue reading Eye On Design: Rei Kawakubo, Manga-Inspired Kimono Ensemble
Tag Archives: kawaii
Pink Thing of The Day: Candy Pink Dress
In late-20th century Japan, the color pink became widely associated with the girl culture and it’s preoccupation with Kawaii or extreme cuteness – demonstrated here by a Candy Pink Doll’s Dress merged onto an adult-sized sheath. This pink dress can also be worn as a prom outfit and this pink prom dress details experiment with elements of Kawaii style, using ruffles, a Peter Pan collar, and frothy textures.
Whale Shaped Full Length Mirror

Walden By Malorie Pangilinan (All Photos By Gail)
New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) design student Malorie Pangilinan created this Whale-shaped mirror, taking her inspiration from Kawaii; the quality of cuteness in the context of Japanese culture.
It sure is cute!
Photographed in May 2016 at the ICFF Trade Show at Javits Center in NYC.
Sebastian Masuda’s Colorful Rebellion (Seventh Nightmare) at Kianga Ellis Projects

Does This Teddy Bear Remind You Of Anything? (All Photos By Gail)
If you pay attention to global pop culture, then you’ve probably heard of the Japanese Harajuku style and Kawaii (Cuteness) culture, where the adorable has an undercurrent of rebellious edge. For just a short time you can immerse yourself in a kind of Cuteness Overload at Tokyo-based Artist and Fashion Designer Sebastian Masuda’s Colorful Rebellion (Seventh Nightmare) installation, through March 29th only at Kianga Ellis Projects. Geoffrey and I paid the space a visit yesterday and it was positively disorienting.
Continue reading Sebastian Masuda’s Colorful Rebellion (Seventh Nightmare) at Kianga Ellis Projects


