What honor did the Met Costume Institute give her in 2017?

A solo exhibition while she was alive

Rei Kawakubo Quiz: Comme des Garcons and Avant-Garde Shapes

A Tokyo designer with no formal fashion training shocked Paris with black, torn and sculptural clothes, and this Rei Kawakubo quiz explores her ideas. Play 10 interactive questions on Comme des Garcons, the 1981 Paris debut, the black period, Body Meets Dress, Dover Street Market, the PLAY heart logo, Junya Watanabe and the 2017 Met exhibition.

Start Rei Kawakubo Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Label
Which fashion label did Rei Kawakubo found?
Meaning
What does Comme des Garcons mean?
Training
What did Kawakubo study at university?
Paris
When did she first show in Paris?
Color
Which color dominated her early Paris collections?
Bumps
What did her 1997 Body Meets Dress collection feature?
Store
Which multi-brand store did she help launch in London in 2004?
Logo
Which line uses a heart with eyes as its logo?
Met
What honor did the Met Costume Institute give her in 2017?
Protege
Which designer trained under her and has his own label?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which fashion label did Rei Kawakubo found?
Answer: Comme des Garcons
She started it in Tokyo.
Q2: What does Comme des Garcons mean?
Answer: Like some boys
She liked the sound of the phrase.
Q3: What did Kawakubo study at university?
Answer: Fine arts and literature
She had no formal fashion training.
Q4: When did she first show in Paris?
Answer: 1981
Critics were stunned.
Q5: Which color dominated her early Paris collections?
Answer: Black
Some called it the black crow look.
Q6: What did her 1997 Body Meets Dress collection feature?
Answer: Padded lumps in unusual places
It challenged ideas of the body.
Q7: Which multi-brand store did she help launch in London in 2004?
Answer: Dover Street Market
It mixes art and retail.
Q8: Which line uses a heart with eyes as its logo?
Answer: PLAY
Filip Pagowski drew the heart.
Q9: What honor did the Met Costume Institute give her in 2017?
Answer: A solo exhibition while she was alive
Only Yves Saint Laurent had been similarly honored.
Q10: Which designer trained under her and has his own label?
Answer: Junya Watanabe
His label is backed by Comme des Garcons.

Rei Kawakubo Quiz – Comme des Garcons and Avant-Garde Shapes

Rei Kawakubo founded Comme des Garcons in Tokyo, a name meaning like some boys. She studied fine arts and literature, not fashion, and began designing clothes in the late 1960s.

Her 1981 Paris debut of black, asymmetric and distressed garments shocked critics. In 1997 her Body Meets Dress, Dress Meets Body collection added padded lumps in unexpected places, challenging ideas of the ideal body.

Kawakubo helped launch Dover Street Market in London in 2004 and created the PLAY line with its heart logo. Junya Watanabe trained under her. In 2017 the Met's Costume Institute gave her a solo exhibition, Art of the In-Between.

What This Quiz Teaches

Fashion fans will enjoy these questions.

Who Kawakubo is
What her label means
How her designs shocked Paris
Which projects she launched
How museums honor her

Did You Know?

She rarely gives interviews.
Her husband Adrian Joffe runs much of the business.
Comme des Garcons perfumes are known for unusual scents.
She collaborates with brands like Nike.
Her shows often have no clear explanation.