In fashion terms, one of the biggest felt absences of the pandemic has been Comme des Garçons on Paris catwalks. Stuck in Tokyo, Rei Kawakubo has been forced to show her collections digitally; her abstract, 3D sculptures – which have been known to leave the fashion press with damp eyes – now trapped behind a screen. Her clothes remain hauntingly beautiful, but to experience them in the flesh brings new depth to her outlandish concoctions.

Which leaves missing out on the brand’s AW22 outing particularly disappointing. In her show notes, Kawakubo spoke of the black rose and its myriad of meanings through history. “For me, the dark beauty of the black rose symbolises courage, resistance and freedom,” she said. The show came soundtracked by Roisin Dubh, an Irish resistance song by Ciaran Carlin, with a title that translates to ‘little black rose’. (The flower has long been an insignia of resistance against British colonisation in Ireland.)

Two black jackets emerged, birthing grey-speckled, itchy material which is typically used to insulate walls. Kawakubo’s bulging silhouettes followed, some fashioned from leopard print, others a black rose brocade – all worn with swollen crochet hats and squidgy helmets by Gary Card. It was like Kawakubo’s creatures had ripped down walls and teared through sofas to build their looks, as if surviving hardship and coming out resilient.

Photography courtesy of Comme des Garçons.

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