INDESIGN PROJECT

Alexandre Raymond
Fashion marketing & communication, Level 5, 2020-21
5FAMK003C Visual and video techniques
CWK1
1
Teacher: Nicolas Godon
 INDEX
RESEARCH 4-19

EDITORIAL BRIEF 20-26

EDITORIAL PREVIEW 27-33

LOOKBOOK 34-41

MINISITE 42-45

BIBLIOGRAPHY 46-47

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 WEAR
YOUR
F REE D O M

Corporate
In 2002, the Comme des Garçons play world, the first store opened in Tokyo in
w clothing line was launched, Rei Kawaku- 1975 and Rei Kawakubo who will come
bo authorised more authentic and street- to settle her brand in France in the fol-

Profile wear clothing from her brand where

each piece is signed with the heart logo
with the eyes.The brand became more
lowing years will open her first store in
1982 in Paris, the brand then established
itself. in the various big cities of the
The brand was created in Tokyo by Rei Kawakubo in 1969, inspired by popular clothes famous of the public, collaborates with world.
and a Japanese custom: sashiko, consisting of extending the life of clothes by reinforc- major streetwear brands such as Su- The brand has always been innovative
ing or sewing several layers. Comparable to patchwork, a recurring pattern in the Com- preme with whom it has already collab- whether in terms of design or communi-
me des Garçons collections even today. Kawakubo for her first show in Paris in 1981, orated more than 10 times but also Nike cation.Today the brand is modern with
broke the codes by exhibiting a collection of black and asymmetrical clothes that went or Lacoste, even with luxury brands like always a punk style but has added more
against the aesthetic, “anti fashion was born”. Louis Vuitton. colours and futuristic style to its collec-
Comme des Garçons had a big im- tions. Rei Kawakubo also invites Japa-
Very innovative for her time, Kawabuko was very criticized by the fashion world at that pact on fashion culture and the way the nese designers to draw for his brand and
time for this totally new style which did not correspond to the criteria of Western or clothes were purchased. The brand now to create their own lines under the Com-
Asian fashion. has more than 200 stores around the me des Garçons brand.

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 THINKING
AND
DOING
Market
Current
Going back to the brand’s first success-

Position es, particularly anti-fashion, can show

what the brand has brought to the fash-

Even though Comme des Garçons started as a Luxury brand Comme des garçons
has also diversified its products lines into different sectors such as streetwear and has
Situation ion world, for me, what made the es-
sence of Rei Kawabuko’s fame is the new
style that it brought to fashion, but also
now more than 30 products lines overall.By reaching a wider audience, Comme des Comme des Garçons is now a famous its openness to different cultures such
Garçons competes with a large panel of brand from streetwear to luxury fashion brands brand in the fashion industry, however, as streetwear, the brand can therefore
such as Kenzo, Clothing, Supreme, Issey Miyake, Louis Vuitton, Maison Margiela,Yohji the brand’s history is not necessarily create a collection starting from its origin
Yamamoto. The brand is one of the few that remains completely independent still to- known to the general public.During the but while remaining in the air of our time.
day.The company chose the brands it wants to work with. As Louis Vuitton, which now 1980s, Comme des Garçons clothing Adapted from what was anti-fashion from
has Virgil Abloh and brings a streetwear side to luxury clothing, Comme des Garçons was often monochromatic or asymmetri- the 80’s to today’s 20’s.
has already this culture for twenty years, particularly with these collaborations with cal. The label was often associated with
Nike, Supreme and even Converse. a “punk” image. As a anti-fashion and rebellious brand
Today, we can find many more colors personality ,the new collection will be
The Brand creator remains a mystery Rei Kawakubo hardly ever giving an interview to and a more futuristic style in the different back to their basic and taking his inspi-
the media and remains private about her private life. The Comme des Garçons culture collections. ration from iconic pieces of Comme des
is leaded by the fact that the brand is completly independent and forge their unique- Garçons, it will have a very asymmetrical
ness trough creation but also by collaborations with artists and their influence in the art style while keeping the iconic colors of
world. the brand which are red, white and black.

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 MAGAZINE
Between 1988 and 1992, COMME des GARÇONS made a biannual magazine series
named Six which was about the theme of the sixth sense.Helped by graphic design-
er Tsuguya Inoue for artistic direction and Atsuko Kozasu for editorial the magazine
was only in black and white with an A4 format, it was used to launched the new
collections of Comme des GARÇONS.
There was no real meanings,designs or structure layout in Six magazines, and there
was mostly abstract illustrations, and black and white photography.

Communication
Background
We also find the unique style of Comme des Garçons in the way it communicates
compared to other brands. Indeed, since its creation, the brand has gone off the
beaten track in term of visual communication. Comme des Garçons with its “under-
ground” communication Comme des Garçons seeks to distinguish itself from other
brands by offering above all an identity specific to customers through their creation.

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 B E L I ev e i n
a better
tom o rr o w

ADVERTISING
Also Comme des Garçons has used different print advertising campaigns in their An inconic print advertising of the brand representing evokes the sunflowers of
history, some that still remains iconic. the painter Van Gogh who had a great admiration for Japanese art, indeed some
If we compare the different advertising campaigns of the brand,We find in the ad- of their slogan use japanese typographicv. The source of inspiration for their
vertising posters of Comme des Garçons the characteristic of the clothing lines: poster is mainly poetry and art.Here the communication style of Comme des
an asymmetry in their light / filtered typography. Garçons differs from that of others luxury fashion brands. Most of the photos
Additionally, advertising posters are often used with poetry and meanings,refer- have not been edited and some of them even seemed closer to a style of report-
ences to art in their various posters. age than fashion photography.

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 LOOKBOOK
Finally, Comme des Garçons own also a
minimalist aproach in their visual communi-
cation. Staying with black and white colors,
the lookbook can be considered as a fake
minimalist lookbook.The book is binded
within a simple design, it plays with 4 dif-
ferents size fonts within the letters pressed
into the paper.
A certain code is proposed to show each
reference for garments in the lookbook,
Comme des Garçons plays with the tem-
plate and the visual aspect and make it
look as technical and factory product.

LOGO
Another visual aspect of the brand is also its famous “heart” as logo. Create in
2002 and very easily recognizable, it is now part of the visual culture of the brand
and it has allowed to expand the visual colors of the brand, very anchored in the
dark this logo created the inspiration for more light color such as the red for the
brand visual communication.
Used several times this logo is quite important because it has allowed the brand
to show a different image by offering simpler and more structured visual designs,-
far from the obscure and unstructured creations of Rei Kawakubo. Today it is the
most widespread and accessible line. these simple designs available in many
colors this allowed Comme des Garçons to gain success otherwise than what the
brand was known for, even if it meant making it forgotten at the base: black and
asymmetrical.

12 13
 MY E N E R GY
E S F RO M
COM
FREEDOM
TARGET MARKET
THE MESSAGE
ple can express their personality on
a daily basis as they wish. The brand
& OBJECTIVES
focuses mainly on the fact that it is in-
Overall, the brand reaches those with a sense of art but also of urban culture. Indeed,
dependent but also quite unique in the
Comme des Garçons is characterized with these different collaborations with major streetwear brands, the brand reaches a
world of fashion and its identity should
by being a brand that thinks outside fairly large audience ranging from 15 to 50 years old. With a foothold in streetwear but
remain intact.With the new collection
the box of fashion, whether by these also in luxury, the brand is known to a wide audience and some of these products re-
“ill-shaped” Comme des Garçons it
creations of these collections but also main affordable for the majority of its target customers.
will show the values embodied
​​ since
by its way of communicating.The cloth- The brand now has more than 200 stores around the world and is established on all
always by the brand through all iconic
ing brand is not only there to create continents. However, the brand remains attached to its history, so Europe and Japan
revisited clothes but also by their past
beauty but also a status, by wearing remain the first markets to which the brand is attached. The objectives with this new
collaborations.
the Comme des Garçons brand peo- collection are to raise awareness towards customers about the history of the brand
while keeping their uniquene and indepedant side.

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WHAT NOT TO DO
Comme des Garçons must remain a unique but also contemporary brand, however
the collection must adapt to the new era and not simply copy these iconic pieces.
Standing out from the big luxury fashion brands remains the priority for this collec-
tion, the essence of Rei kawakubo must be found on this collection. They must keep
their uniqueness by not falling into the mainstreams design of its luxury brand con-
curency it must mainly avoid classical shapes.

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 WHERE TO LOOK FOR INSPIRATION
To present the collection, inspiration must be find with the past collec- Additionnaly, Kenzo can be take as an inspirational sources with their re-
tion of the brand but also from the collaboration with other brand. Also, structured design but also with their Japanese influence in their garmen-
the brand must be inspired as it has always done with modern art and wvts. Finally, the brand can also find its inspiration trough the asymmet-
poetry such as its communication for the new collection. rical style while keeping the iconic colors of the brand which are white,
red and black.

TH I N KI N G
AND
DOING

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 THE EDITORIAL BRIEF

Based on the new collection “ill-shaped”, the editorial is a key element in

transcribing the visual communication. To do this, the visual work of the
editorial must correspond to the requirements of Comme des Garçons.

The editorial “Play with lines” will be based on an inspiration of the icon-
ic pieces of the Comme des Garçons brand but most and above all on
the anti-fashion style of the 80s, the artistic direction must be transcribed
as being again avant-garde by offering the iconic colors of Comme des
Garçons: red,black and white. Also by playing on asymmetrical and chiar-
oscuro in the visual, it must bring a certain poetry and meanings.
The direction of the editorial must transcribe a poetry and uniqueness, it
must show an exclusive side in the photos but above all play with visual
codes with several illustrations and very dark backgrounds while playing
on reference to the story of Comme des Garçons.

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 THE STYLIST MODEL CASTING
The stylist chosen for the editorial part Garçons, her experience will help instill 4 models will be chosen for the editorial “Play with lines” :
will be Katie Shillingford, a British stylist creativity to best bring out clothes in a
and fashion director. She made her styl- way that makes them the most fashion-
ing debut with Gareth Pugh and worked able and attractive in the eyes of readers.
as a fashion director with Dazed, Con- She has also worked and collaborated as Roos Abels Grace Hartzel
fused Magazine and Another Magazine. a stylist with opera and ballets which will
She has worked with leading fashion help show the poetic side on the visual.
photographers such as Nick Knight, Finally, the clothes chosen will be high
Paolo Roversi. Katie Shillingford has quality clothes with great finishes, un-
already collaborated with Comme des structured shapes and without necessarily
useful use for pratical activity, the clothes
must above all offer an alternative vision in
fashion.

So Ra Choi Natalie Westling

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 MAKEUP & HAIR
Englishwoman Lucia Pieroni and her
team will be make-up and hairstyl-
ist for this editorial. She has worked ART DIRECTION
with big names in the fashion indus-
try such as the Givenchy brand and A spread of 7 outfits and a black back-
Vogue magazine. The makeup will ground will be shot. and It is the photogra-
be based on artistic and geometric pher Paolo Roversi who will shoot for the
shapes and the haircuts will be based editorial. He has been closely linked with
on very futuristic hairstyles inspired Comme des Garçons and Rei kawakubo for
by hairstyles that humans may have more than 30 years, the two have a com-
in the future. plicity in their work, he will show the beauty
and the mystery of Comme des Garçons
which has accompanied the brand for
years. He is the most suitable to best adapt
all the essence of the brand: poetry and a
unique philosophy through these photo-
graphs.

PREPARATION
The shooting will take place on January 6th,

E N D LES S
2020 at 1 p.m.
The editorial photos will be shot in a large THE
POWER
photography studio in Paris. The different fa-
cilities and garments will be available 2 weeks
in advance. All the models and the make-up

OF BLACK
team will be 5 hours before the start of the
shoot to allow the photographer and stylist to
lead the artistic direction.

The photographs will be characterized by capturing the emotion emanating from the
models as well. The models will be directing in such a way that they are as emotional
as possible and correspond to the meanings of poetry wanted for the editorial.

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 POST-SHOOTING
The photographer will have to retouch the photographs by adding different type
of effect on the raw pictures, first he will have to cut the picture in half to make an
asymetrical aspect, also he has to add some gaussian blur effect and noise on the
photographs. Finally, he must play with the different light and white balance of the
picture to make the photographs a chiaroscuro effect.

LAYOUT INSPIRATION

PLAY WIth LINES

EDITORIAL
PREVIEW
Photographer : Paolo Roversi
Stylist : Katie Shillingford
Model : So Ra Choi
Make up and hair : Lucia Pieroni
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 Photographer : Paolo Roversi
Stylist : Katie Shillingford
Model : Roos Abels
Make up and hair : Lucia Pieroni

Photographer : Paolo Roversi

Stylist : Katie Shillingford
Model : So Ra Choi
Make up and hair : Lucia Pieroni
28 29
Photographer : Paolo Roversi Photographer : Paolo Roversi
Stylist : Katie Shillingford Stylist : Katie Shillingford
Model : Roos Abels Model : Grace Hartzel
Make up and hair : Lucia Pieroni Make up and hair : Lucia Pieroni

30 31
 Photographer : Paolo Roversi
Stylist : Katie Shillingford
Model : Grace Hartzel
Make up and hair : Lucia Pieroni

Photographer : Paolo Roversi

Stylist : Katie Shillingford
Model : Natalie Westling
Make up and hair : Lucia Pieroni

32 33
 COMME DES GARCONS
REI KAWAKUBO *
LOOKBOOK : S/S21-SW

LOOKBOOK
The lookbook of the new collection is following the past visual design of Comme
des Garçons given that the new collection is inspired by the history of the brand
following the idea of the theme asymetrical black,white and red clothes, as a
professional entity the lookbook of the season summer spring 2021 will present
the collection “ill-shaped”. In order to follow the communication background of
Comme des Garçons, the lookbook will have the approach of a fake minimalist
lookbook.The cover play with the different font size furthermore the red corner of
the cover picture will be pressed “inside” the paper of the page. Finally the book
show the picture accompany of code specially create for this collection to refer-
ence the outfits.

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S/S-SW AS-15 S/S-SW AS-16

36 37
S/S-SW AS-17 S/S-SW AS-18

38 39
S/S-SW AS-19 S/S-SW AS-20

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 MINISITE EXHIBITION
The purpose of the minisite is to propose an ephemeral website that will In the exhibition section, the five different citys were the retrospective
be available 1 year. The idea behind this pop up website is to create an will take place during the year link to an article about the description of
interest for the new collection inspired by all the past history of Com- the exhibition place chosen for the city. Different information such as the
me des Garçons.To do so, a restropective exhibition call “Back to the description of the place, sanitary mesure imposed for the evenement are
source” will take place during the year following 2021 the different city available and finally a buying section is put in place in order to purchase
will be : Paris, London,Shangai, Tokyo and New York. The visitors will be the ticket.
allowed to discover the description of the place of where the exhibition
will take place for instance in Paris the Louvre musuem but also different
photographs of the pieces presented inside accompagned also with a
description of the key moments of Comme des Garçons history.

Website link : www.cdgraymondalexandre.wordpress.com

HOMEPAGE

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 HERITAGE
To conlude, a short history within the key moments and the actual pur-
pose of the brand is also explain in the section “HERITAGE” in order to
attract the people who doesn’t know at all the history of the brand, it
will give first taste and a detailed description of what the brand is doing
nowadays.

GALLERY
In the gallery section, a glymps of what the vistors of the exhibition will
have access is available: dIfferent photographs retracing the historical
moments of the brand such as the iconic advertising, their past collabo-
ration with other luxury and streetwear brand and the most important the
picture of the garments exposed during the exhibition.

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T

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