Comme des Garçons Homme (1990-2003) - Keiichi Tanaka
What is Comme des Garçons?
Comme des Garçons (French for 'Like the Boys’) also CDG for short, is a Japanese fashion label, founded by Rei Kawakubo in 1969 and established as a company in 1973. In 1978 the brand added a menswear range under the name Comme des Garcons Homme.
Comme des Garçons has many other sub-labels under the brand - specifically in this journal we will be talking about Comme des Garçons Homme (the main menswear line) during the years from 1990-2003.
Comme des Garçons Homme (1990-2003) - Keiichi Tanaka
Over the years buying and collecting Comme des Garçons, we started to notice that the pieces we liked most from the brand all had a distinct feel, shape and choice of materials. After a while we noticed a pattern in that each of these items all had a silver woven Comme des Garçons label. After some digging and research we were slowly introduced to the world of Keiichi Tanaka, who was the head designer for Comme des Garçons Homme from 1990-2003.
While Comme des Garçons is often associated with avant-garde designs, Rei Kawakubo created the Comme des Garçons Homme line to focus on "creating a men’s clothing line with the idea that basics are basics." In 1990, she appointed former engineer turned fashion designer Keiichi Tanaka to lead Comme des Garçons Homme.
Rei Kawakubo once said, "What's important in clothing design isn't the shape of the collar or the length of the skirt. It starts with the atmosphere and the feeling it evokes. In other words, that atmosphere is the overall concept and approach." Keiichi Tanaka was no stranger to this, with his design philosophy centering around the overall feel of a garment. He has described his approach to Comme des Garçons Homme as creating menswear that “isn’t embarrassing for an adult man to wear, but always has something new” whilst also blending in themes of “masculinity, simplicity, freshness, and strength”.
Comme des Garçons Homme Pinstripe S/S Shirt - 90s (left)
Comme des Garçons Homme Red Embroidered Rope / Black Shirt - 90s (middle)
Comme des Garçons Homme Navy Long Sleeve Contrast Stitching - 90s (right)
Tanaka does this by making subtle tweaks to the fabric, dimensions and details to produce dramatic changes in simple pieces. He would often place a high degree of attention to patterns, processing and materials, resulting in garments that have a classic and timeless feel. As you can see from some of the pieces below, Tanaka has chosen two contrasted fabrics for the front and back panels of the shirt, this is coupled with a relaxed oversized silhouette.
Comme des Garçons Homme Denim Contrast Material Shirt - 00s (Top)
Comme des Garçons Homme Black Contrasted Cord/Cotton Shirt - 00s (Bottom)
In many ways Comme des Garçons can feel hard to wear or daunting to explore because there are so many different lines and the pieces you often see online or in stores can seem ‘unwearable’ for the everyday outfit. For us our favorite items from the brand are items that usually have a small or unique change that adds an interesting element without it having to be a huge statement. So it's no surprise that we really like the items designed by Keichii Tanaka. We’ve collected a few pieces specifically from this 1990-2003 time period to showcase, so we hope you have a look through them and find something you like or resonate with. There is a huge universe of Comme des Garçons to explore and the more you look into the brand and each individual lines archive, there will be something you'll be sure to love.
Images taken by 108WAREHOUSE and Comme des Garçons archives.
Words by Edwin Widjaja
Assisted by Dennis Nguyen