Kow-Tao

>> I guess there is some benefit to my being a slow-mo blogger though it might be perceived as an opportunistic one.  The news that Tao Kurihara has decided to close her own label to concentrate on designing the Comme des Garcons Tricot label, was a shock to me but unsurprising to others.  The announcement was even more blub-worthy from my perspective, considering I had just revisited her early work via the Future Beauty exhibition at the Barbican and am now hell bent on attempting to procure all of her work from 2005-7.  This will probably be even more of an impossibility after the news, so therefore I'll be holding onto my peach knitted shorts from her debut collection for dear life. 

What struck me even more though, as I was treated to a recapping overview of the expanse of the Comme Universe at the exhibition, was how shrewd Rei Kawakubo was to have Junya Watanabe and Tao Kurihara under the CdG umbrella so that she can a) utilise their talents to design the many lines of CdG and b) have them showing and selling collections in their own right that vastly compliment Kawakubo's own work for Comme's mainline – Watanabe with his streetwear and slightly more aggressive inspired elements and Kurihara with her sensibility for thoughtful yet romantic frou frou.  Kurihara's signature and handiwork will of course live on in the Comme des Garcons Tricot line which is arguably more accessible than her own label ever was in terms of pricing and stockists.  Still, it will feel rather strange to see this trio of Comme broken up on the Paris fashion week schedule, much like watching a tricycle waddle along with just two wheels.

Tao's S/S 11 collection, which will be the last, is just hitting stores now and Dover Street Market will be my first port of call in case I get a twinge to buy a memento from the last collection.  Pah!  It would have to be a very very deep-pocketed twinge indeed.  I suppose I'll have to make do with my showroom visit to take some gratuitous close-up shots of the collection.  "Miss Honey" was the vague reference given by Kurihara to describe the collection but somehow, theme or muse isn't such a necessity when the point is to showcase Kurihara's skill when she is given delicate fabrics and a ton of elastic to create these outfits of frothy chiffon smocking resembling whipped cream and gelato in some instances.  Kurihara's arsenal of textile effects also lets loose with rosette-effects, raw-edged shard pleats and sweet-like-honey motifs such as broderie anglaise and daisies worked into the embroidery.  It's a chiffon swathed adieu from Tao the label, but here's hoping that Kawakubo adopts another designer under the CdG wing that will see a balanced trio restored.