The Reign of Rei Kawakubo As The Met opens its Rei Kawakubo show in New York, we celebrate her influence
Words by Harriet Quick
“I have always pursued a new way of thinking about design by denying established values, conventions and what is generally accepted as the norm. And the modes of expression that are important to me are fusion, imbalance, the unfinished, elimination and absence of intent,” says Rei Kawakubo who first set up her revolutionary brand in Tokyo in 1969 naming Comme des Garçons after a Françoise Hardy lyric.