First, I’d like to formally apologize to Jerry Lorenzo for talking so much smack over the years about Fear Of God. I’ve yet to wear an outfit this week that doesn’t include the Black Overlapped Sweater by the brand because of one of the following reasons:
Comfortable, warm, and soft
Perfectly oversized, it feels like I’m wearing a blanket outside
All of the above.
The answer is point three - all of the above. I can confidently say it’s one of my favourite purchases of the year so far. So, yeah, this is me now.
Also, remember that time I said I was trying to go for a more fitting wardrobe and less oversized pieces? Yeah, forget all of that - we are back to wearing oversized clothing all day, every day, 24/7 365. If the sweater can’t fit at least three people in it, get it out of my face. I wanna feel like an ant that’s been dropped into a cup of chocolate pudding.
I’ve actually got no idea what that means, but it felt right. Back to the show.
Comme des Garçons
I remember seeing the work of Franz Kline and Jean-Michel Basquiat for the first time in high school, and being left with more questions than answers. How could someone create this? What is this gear they’ve got that I need to create anything on this level?
I’ve had the same questions for Rei Kawakubo, the founder and designer of Comme des Garçons. How can someone design anything like this? And so consistently for the last 50+ years? It’s the label that, and I can say this confidently, left the biggest impact in my life as a creative. Martin and Yohji are right behind.
The surrealist nature of the label never ceases to amaze me, especially the last few years with collections like AW24 and AW23. The over-exaggerated silhouettes, the abstract and surreal approach to her designs; the angst, darkness and honesty in her collections. It’s punk, it’s abrasive, it’s disturbing, it’s existential - I absolutely fucking love it. All of it.
The collection I’ve been coming back to recently is Fall 1992. I’ve been struggling to find a healthy balance between having a uniform-based wardrobe, while maintaining a hint of, for the lack of a better word, wackiness. With FW1992, I can’t help but admire and obsess over the elongated sleeves in various looks, the oversized tops, and the way each garment seems to move and twist. Going through this collection has helped me find a better balance.
It’s exactly what I’m striving for with my more simpler pieces, as I’d like to find a way to turn my simple, uniform-esque wardrobe into an abstract, dystopian-like one without missing a beat, or having to find additional pieces. It’s one of the reasons why, and it’s weird saying this, I’ve been wearing this FOG sweater so much. The way it twists, the way it sits and drapes when you tuck it, the way it overlaps when my hands are in my pockets, etc.
Another good example of what I’m trying to achieve is look 59, especially with my recent Comoli purchases. I mean, look at how the trousers bend and crinkle as she’s taking a step, or the way the jacket sits over-top of the waist, or how the sleeves sit with her hands in her pocket. This is exactly what I’ve wanted since I first started caring about fashion. It’s type of nonchalantness. As if she got up, threw on whatever was sitting on the floor from the night before, and went out for a walk to listen to the latest Nicolas Jaar record.
Comme des Garçons has helped me grow into the person I am today both creatively, but also personally. Diving into their collections, seeing their shows; it’s helped develop my creative vision and style into one that I resonate with more. Along with this, the CDG community is one that never fails to leave me inspired. How dedicated they are to the label, their styling methods, and how diverse the community is.
Anyway, I felt like sharing this with you as I figured it may help someone out with their style. I’m going to continue chipping away at reviewing past collections and implementing styling methods they’ve used into my day-to-day outfits.
For those interested, you can follow @peoplewearingcommedesgarcons to see how others are styling pieces by Comme des Garçons.
Weekend Picks
One thing I wanted to highlight before diving into this weekend’s selection is the styling done for Gathering’s Farmer Jacket (seen below). I’ve yet to fully recover since seeing this and I will be thinking about this photo for the next few weeks. Whoever styled this deserves a round of applause - bravo.
When you have a minute, I strongly recommend visiting their online store. I’m definitely keeping my eye on a few things, as I patiently wait for my next pay day to come.
SEE
Hangh-Neck Sweater
$669CAD
Nanamica
Cotton Wool Mariner Jacket
$548CAD
Kapital
Sailor Jacket
$299CAD
Estudio Niksen
Black Heavy Knit Sweater
$180CAD
Gathering
Naturally Dyed Farmer Jacket
$881CAD
Auralee
Garbadine Blouson (w/tags)
$297.60CAD (honestly a steal imo)
Beautiful People
Wool Mohair Wide Trousers
$518CAD
ABRA
Black Ballerina Tall Boots
$1,100CAD (someone buy these for me pls I’m a size 43)
AETA
Shoulder Tote M
$275CAD
Comoli
Long Sleeve Shirt
$415CAD
SHINYAKOZUKA
Mac Shirt-Ish Jacket
$630CAD
MM6
Triple Layer Shirt
$299CAD
Yohji Yamamoto Pour Homme
Long Collar Blouse Black
$315.46CAD
Jan Machenhaur
Zag Jacket
$410CAD
Stein
Windproof Nylon Collared Uniform
$553CAD
Estudio Niksen
Double Zip Pocket Sweater
$150CAD
Yoko Sakamoto
Beach Cloth Blouson
$635CAD
Gathering
Fisherman Smock
$1,042CAD
Robe De Chambre Comme des Garçons
MA-1 Bomber Jacket
$380CAD
Comme des Garçons
AW83 Hooded Coat
$218.24CAD
Comme des Garçons
AD2000 Ruffled Wool Jacket
$120.04CAD
Comme des Garçons
V-Neck Cardigan (w/tags)
$396.55CAD
Comme des Garçons
AD2008 Sheer Shirt
$121.95CAD
Comme des Garçons Homme Plus
Layered Palazzo Trousers
$415CAD
Thanks for reading!
Your support is greatly appreciated as I continue working towards growing this newsletter and slowly turning it into something bigger. The end goal is to turn this into a publication, featuring interviews with individuals within the fashion realm, covering collections and shows, etc. Maybe we can make it to fashion week - who knows.
My only ask is if you can please like, subscribe and share this post if you found it helpful, fun, or if it just helped pass the time tbh.
As always, thank you for your support. Love ya.
- Chris
You never fail to write a great read 🙌🏻
I got the Yoko Sakamoto beach cloth blouson in black from Japan off of your recommendation a few weeks ago. One of my new favorite pieces hands down rn, can’t say enough