WWD recently caught up with Comme de Garçon's Rei Kawakubo, who had some harsh words for new designers and about fast fashion. Burn. When asked if there were any young designers she is watching, Kawakubo said:
There are very few. There are few people who, like us, have the values and the way of thinking to really try hard. They lack discipline. And it's not just fashion, I think...[young people] get satisfied too easily. They're not strict enough with themselves. They're too soft on themselves.
On the topic of fast fashion, Kawakubo told the newspaper it's not so good for "the value of creation," although she did once collaborate with H&M:
That was a special case. They were making a new store in Japan, so it was just a short, two-week relationship. It wasn't a big thing, but I thought it was interesting because they asked me to do all the advertising and visuals as well. H&M has a very different way of thinking and a different business model, so it was interesting to see how much of a connection we could make. But in the end I realized that there wasn't very much in common, so I don't think I'll do it again.
So where does Kawakubo shop?
At airports, because I don't have time to shop. I buy my cosmetics at the airport and there's nothing else much I buy. I just don't have time.
Minimalist. We dig it.