Heads up, fashionista! Top fashion houses Gucci and Comme des Garçons are giving us a holiday treat in the form of a tote, and we tell you, it’s one to keep! Yes, you read that right—the two labels, one led by Alessandro Michele, the other by Rei Kawakubo, are teaming up for a collaboration to end the year with a bang. It may seem unlikely considering their different style codes, but the maisons delivered in creating a bag that is distinctly Comme des Garçons while also easily identifiable as a Gucci-stamped accessory.
The tote bears the same silhouette of the clear CDG piece that catapulted to fame and every fashionista wanted to have their hands on, while Gucci comes in the details: the signature web stripe slashes through the bag. The combination works wonderfully, perhaps as a testament to the two brands’ impeccable tastes. The shopper tote, despite its deceptively clear cut style, is also a piece that reflects the trends of the year. In one bag, you have at least two trends: the clear exterior that was more for aesthetic purposes than anything, but was still found in many fashion icons’ shoulders and hands, and logomania, which goes against the desire for minimalism in the past years. According to the official release, “the result is an idiosyncratic Made in Japan item.”
Believe it or not, this is not the first time that the labels did a collaboration. Back in 2015, the same year that Michele assumed the creative direction of Gucci, Comme des Garçons teamed up with the Italian fashion house to put forth a collection of memorable silk scarves. This holiday season, they are back to experimenting together in order to put a new spin to the familiar tote construction. But it is just one piece out of a pack, because Kawakubo has more collaborations to deliver through its special project it calls Friends and CDG Happy Holidays.
Friends and CDG Happy Holidays was officially introduced on November 23, a month ahead of Christmas. The list of partner brands is definitely special, with names including Simone Rocha, Maison Margiela, Burberry, Stussy, Marine Serre, and the already mentioned Gucci. Margiela stands out because the brand marks this as the very first collaboration in the house’s history. The idea was to spin an iconic item from the listed companies into something more festive, presenting us with holiday-appropriate tops, scarves, ties and bags—come to think of it, Gucci’s web stripes need not much effort because it is already red and green. Moreover, Adrian Joffe, who is both Kawakubo’s significant other and the chief executive of Dover Street Market, said that the project is about bringing people together, which in this case was also applicable to the brands. At the center of the collaborations are trust and respect, although the labels are more than happy to let Kawakubo to take the lead.
Recently, luxury brands found great success in collaborating with other fashion houses. Off-White, which went ahead Gucci as Lyst’s top label for 2018, partly owes the ranking to its partnerships. The CDG team ups are likewise expected to be well-received and generate significant buzz. They can count on consumers who are always on the hunt for exclusive releases.
The bag in question was initially released exclusively over at Tokyo’s Dover Street Market, but was later made available internationally on December 6. This provided ample time for hypebeasts to drool on images of the bag bearing codes for both brands. The other items in the collection are likely to peak at the $500 price tag. Whether or not the project will result in more collaborations for CDG is yet to be seen, but what is sure is that this will be a hit for the brands, so have at it while you still have the chance.
Image credits: Gucci and Comme des Garçons, Dover Street Market, Asia Tatler, Naoya Fujii
