Fashion & Beauty

This reclusive designer is the Met Gala’s next muse

The Met Gala is already getting in gear for next year’s star-studded ball. The just-announced theme: Comme des Garçons — and its head, Rei Kawakubo.

According to Vogue, the companion Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibit, which will open May 4, 2017, three days after the Met Gala, will mark the second time a living designer will be honored — the first was Yves Saint Laurent in 1983.

While fashion neophytes might be scratching their heads and wondering who this reclusive designer is, the fashion world is applauding the bold choice.

Kawakubo, who is media-shy and rarely photographed, is the designer and creator of the major brand Comme des Garçons, which she established in 1973. From the beginning of her career to today, her designs have achieved an avant-garde aesthetic that has garnered a cult following.

Her runway looks run the gamut from extremely oversized unisex suits to items that literally look like you’re wearing a curtain or a stuffed bedsheet. They tend to engulf the wearer and spur conversations on what art and fashion really are.

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Here's a selection of Rei Kawakubo's work for Comme des Garçons. This is "“Body Meets Dress - Dress Meets Body," from” spring/summer 1997.Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, © Paolo Roversi
Another look from 1997's "“Body Meets Dress - Dress Meets Body" collection.Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, © Paolo Roversi
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"Blue Witch,"” spring/summer 2016. Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, © Paolo Roversi
"Not Making Clothing,”" spring/summer 2014.Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, © Paolo Roversi
A model walks the runway at the Comme des Garçons spring/summer 2017 show during Paris Fashion Week earlier this month.Catwalking/Getty Images
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Another look from this year's Paris Fashion Week.Catwalking/Getty Images
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If you still don’t know who we’re talking about, you might recognize Comme des Garçons’ heart-embellished striped boat shirts and Converse sneakers that rule the streets from Paris to New York as a go-to basic for fashion lovers.

The Met’s exhibition will have 120 items that showcase the world of Comme des Garçons. Kawakubo said in a statement, “I have always pursued a new way of thinking about design . . . by denying established values, conventions, and what is generally accepted as the norm. And the modes of expression that have always been most important to me are fusion . . . imbalance . . . unfinished . . . elimination . . . and absence of intent.”

Of course, the biggest talking points of the gala will be what the attendees will wear, including gala co-chairs Katy Perry and Pharrell Williams. Are they going to go all out and show up in standout runway pieces that barely allow them to sit down? Or will they tone it down with more street-style friendly items?

I’m anticipating a mix of both, but we won’t know for sure until the red carpet opening hour on May 1.