COMME DES GARÇONS AW26 BY REI KAWAKUBO: A MASTERCLASS IN BLACK

At Paris Fashion Week, Rei Kawakubo presented her AW26 collection for Comme des Garçons, proving once again why she remains a pioneer of avant-garde fashion. Far from just black garments, the runway felt like “sculptures of the abyss”, where geometric volumes and cascading architectural ruffles swallowed light and created an almost tangible solitude.

Amid the cinematic darkness, bursts of vibrant pink appeared like visceral shouts, punctuating the otherwise monochrome narrative. Every avant-garde silhouette, paired with the bizarre yet mesmerizing headpieces, walked the line between deconstruction and reconstruction, a hallmark of Kawakubo’s vision of destructive innovation.

Hair and makeup were expertly executed by Takeo Arai, with headpieces by Nobuki Hizume and lighting by Thierry Dreyfus. The collection’s music, from Chopin to Mozart, heightened the theatrical tension, creating a runway experience that was less about clothing and more about a dramatic, sculpted journey through shadow and light.

This AW26 show reaffirmed Kawakubo’s mastery in turning fashion into immersive art, where each look is both a statement and an exploration of form, darkness, and emotion.