The “Comme day” might be the most exciting of any given fashion week. In every single season of the Paris iteration, Junya Watanabe, Noir Rei Ninomiya, and Comme des Garçons show their collections on the same day. And, while the former two stand by themselves, the latter’s show inevitably feels like a climax. For Spring/Summer 2026, Rei Kawakubo showed an imperfectly perfect collection that reflected on the beauty of human error.
The designer’s characteristic amorphous shapes were, as always, a means for communication. Perfectly symmetrical embroideries created bulbous silhouettes. Floral lace twisted and turned to create asymmetrical rolls. A burlap-like canvas has its edges completely raw, its threads flowing like feathers as models walk. The palette, a mix of light neutrals and bright, fiery reds and pinks, spoke to a contrast between expectation and reality, as if showing the raw underbelly of a romantic dream.
For the past seasons, Kawakubo has made decisively political statements. Just in the last three, we’ve seen her clothe soldiers of a senseless war, stage a protest for the way capitalism is taking over human life and search for the next political hero. This collection is different. It doesn’t speak to reality in the same literal way. Unlike in the recent past, the designer lets us interpret her pieces—perhaps a statement in itself. In an age where critical thinking is discouraged, she insists on it. What to make of satin cocoons perfectly padded by a grid-like cover? Kawakubo won’t tell us. It’s up to us to decide.
Words by Pedro Vasconcelos
