If you like design, Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons will ring a couple of bells for you as she has been heralded as one of the most influential luminaries in her field. Since she debuted in Paris in 1981, she has succeeded in blurring the divide between art and fashion and transforming prevailing notions of beauty, identity and the body. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay. Its fashions not only stand apart from clothing's progenitor, but actively resist and defy labels and clichés. His work focuses on the concept behind the idea of ​​“in-between”, which according to his approach is located between space and void. The MET Costume Institute's spring 2017 exhibition in New York examined the work of designer Rei Kawakubo, who is not unknown for being an agent provocateur who challenges the status quo and what is considered best practice by the mainstream. The show based on the theme of "brokerage" featured approximately one hundred and fifty pieces of women's clothing by Rei Kawakubo, and Comme des Garçons became famous not only by stopping at recent collections but by going back from the 1980s to its most recent collections. The galleries illustrated the designer's efforts in the space between borders, which are imbued with a taste for revolution. The objects were organized into the nine fundamental concepts underlying his aestheticism: Absence/PresenceDesign/Non DesignModa/Anti-ModaModel/MultipleThen/NowHigh/LowSelf/OtherObject/SubjectClothes/Not ClothesWhat Kawakubo achieves is to break down what is perceived to separate the aforementioned dualisms and expose those barriers for what they are: artificial and arbitrary. As someone who is distantly familiar with Kawakubo's work, the exhibition was challenging, with the striking clothes, installation design and catalog forming an unrivaled behemoth that breaks down the barriers between art and fashion, under book form articulated by Andrew Bolton and photography by Nicholas Alan Cope, Inez & Vinoodh, Katerina Jebb, Kazumi Kurigami, Ari Marcopoulos, Craig McDean, Brigitte Niedermair, Paolo Roversi and Collier Schorr This catalog is designed to accompany the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute, focused on Kawakubo's definition of fashion: “What has always interested me are clothes that have never been seen before, that are completely new and how they can be expressed. Is it called fashion? I don't know the answer. -Rei Kawakubo. This richly illustrated publication weaves an illuminating narrative around Kawakubo's experiments with oppositions and spaces between borders. Kawakubo considers his fashions and their environments as a Gesamtkunstwerk, that is, a "total work of art". This synthesis between the exhibition and this book is therefore conceived as a complete expression of the “universe” of Comme des Garcónons. It is intended to be a holistic and immersive experience, which facilitates a personal engagement with Kawakubo's emissions. Brilliant new photographs of over 120 examples of Kawakubo's women's clothing for Comme des Garçons, accompanied by Kawakubo's commentary on her designs and processes, reveal her conceptual and thought-provoking aesthetic as rarely done before. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay A chronology of Kawakubo's career provides additional context, and an in-depth conversation with the author offers a fascinating glimpse into the mind of this Japanese fashion visionary. The book includes a bonus fold-out poster featuring 2 Dimensions, Autumn/Winter 2012-2013 and Invisible Clothes, Spring/Summer 2017. A book that is minimal, captivating and incredibly chic photography,.