On a cloudy autumn morning in Tokyo, the weather is clear. On the seventh floor of the Comme Des Garçons headquarters building is a darkroom where Tao Kurihara once displayed her series of works. Tai’s earthy, approachable demeanor makes her the most down-to-earth designer at Comme, and her clothes the most unabashedly girly (with the possible exception of the Comme des Garçons Girl collection). But while the CDG girls were prim and proper, showing up to class on time in neatly ironed Peter Pan collared shirts and schoolgirl skirts, Tao’s girls took their fairies off to live in the woods.
This strange whimsy is particularly strong in this series, inspired by Tove Jansson, the Finnish artist and writer best known as the creator of The Moomins. Not surprisingly, the Moomins are popular in Japan (a quick look at the website reveals that there are more Moomin stores in Japan than anywhere else in the world), and 2024 is the first time Jansson is bringing the Moomins to the world 80th anniversary since everywhere. If this sounds like preparation for a collaborative line of Moomin merch, you don’t know Tao at all.
“I created this collection in the hope that by printing Jansson’s wonderful and powerful images onto fabrics and wearing them, I could generate new ideas,” the show notes read. While lesser designers might plaster characters literally onto clothes, Kurihara delves into Jansson’s legend, transforming the artist’s self-portrait (cigarette in mouth) into giant polka dots and harlequins on brightly colored dresses Prints – and, while on the catwalk, the snub-nosed character Snork (an early Moomin prototype) was printed on T-shirts and tote bags. The colors are also sometimes reminiscent of the forest, organic tones in Jansson’s work, with Finnish landscapes and meadow floral patterns appearing on cotton dresses, often twisted and patchworked with tulle pleats so that they create heavy, pronounced hems. Silhouette.
Later came some white looks, enlivened with broderie embroidery and asymmetrical ruffles as usual, followed by gray tailored jackets that gradually became more messy (but beautiful) with pleats at the shoulders and chest. The final look was a rich layering of stormy tulle and sheer metallics, again printed with Jansson’s smoking pattern. It’s as unique a take on Moominvalley as we could hope for, and showcases Kurihara’s skill at integrating her inspirations into the Comme universe.
Kurihara, who apparently hails from the Rei Kawakubo School of Design, talks about “generating new ideas” through the dissonance of piecing things together. She joined the company just a year after graduating from Saint Martin’s College in 1997, and of all the designers in the Comme family, she seems closest to its matriarch in taste and sensibility, as well as her sense of art and whimsy that she combines with business ization capabilities are feasible. Still, it’s interesting to see Dow’s colors push further beyond the boundaries of what Rei Kawakubo wrote. To quote Kurihara herself, explaining why she was inspired by Jansson: “She lived her life without forgetting her independence and freedom.” Words to live by.
