Known for opening stores in unlikely destination, Rei Kawakubo opens her multilevel fashion retail store in New York’s…residential area?
residential area filled with nail shops, bro bars, and Indian restaurants, 160 Lexington Avenue at 30th Street used to be home to New York’s School of Applied Design for Women until Rei Kawakubo hit New York. The address is now home to Kawakubo’s multi level, 20,000 square foot Dover Street Market stocking not only Kawakubo’s Comme des Garcons, but also designers such as Rick Ownes, Maison Martin Margiela, and Dior Homme.
The designer Kawakubo, known for her intentions to not make clothes and quoted saying, [quote align=”center” color=”#b64736″]“My head would be too restricted if I only thought about making clothes,”[/quote]has indeed done more than make clothes. Before opening her store in New York, Kawakubo opened her first DSM store in the unlikely neighbourhood of Mayfair. The area was just known for its art galleries but is now home to other brands including Acne, Christian Louboutin, and McQ. Although it may seem surprising for the designer to pioneer stores in unorthodox districts, the attitude is clearly reflected in her designs. As the creative director for Comme des Garcons, Kawakubo is known for her anti-fashion austere and avant-garde collections that have stimulated revolutionizing reactions that seem to have created a cult around her name.
What may be from her Japanese roots, and Parisian attitude, Kawakubo’s philosophy revolves around a rare discipline focused on innovation and creation stating, “the more people that are afraid when they see new creation, the happier am.” An attitude that seems to have gotten lost with the new designers and the fashion industry, Kawakubo is now bringing her philosophy to the streets of New York and filling them with the DSM attitude.
By CheRima Manayan
