Written by Katarina Jansdottir

Far too many collections today lack depth or demand explanation in order for them to be relevant or even understood. That’s not the case with Rei Kawakubo’s spring/summer 2012 Comme des Garçons offering. Her sartorial representation of a woman’s life tells such a strong story that words are redundant. Paris’ Musée Galleria is currently displaying the collection in its entirety at their temporary home on the Docks en Seine. Curator Olivier Saillard collaborated directly with Kawakubo on the presentation – huge plastic spheres spread around the room containing three to five looks.

In each bubble we find one stage in life; birth, marriage, death and transcendance. The predominant use of white has a dramatic result, both as a symbol for innocence, in a Western context, and in adding a ceremonial value. At one point the all-white purity is broken with violent graffiti motifs, hand-painted by the artist Oyama Enrico Isamu. The silhouettes and angles, the volumes, the craftsmanship, attention to detail, selection of fabrics, and slight variations in the tones of white are elements skilfully balanced.

Saillard’s exhibition treats the clothes as art and in doing so undermines the commercial fashion context that they were created in originally. The simple layout of the exhibition strengthens the narrative value of the clothes. While references can be mapped out and explained, they are unnecessary in the end. The fact that White Drama on its own can stand as the subject of an exhibition alone illustrates its importance and indicates that is another historical collection by Comme des Garçons.

White Drama is on at Musée Galliera in Paris until 7th of October