PARIS — Hermès International has offered the first glimpse of its collaboration with Rei Kawakubo on limited-edition silk carré scarves.
The first collection, called Noir et Blanc, features five scarves with abstract black-and-white designs.
The Touch Me scarf features a checkerboard pattern overlaid on a furry-looking scrawl. Thalassa shows an abstract drawing of rowboats overlaid with oversize polka dots, while Cheval Surprise juxtaposes an ink-blot pattern with a strip of gingham checks.
The second collection, Couleur, is a line of six colorful scarves also including geometric elements like giant patchwork, gingham and shirt stripes.
“I have always deeply respected the tradition and craftsmanship of Hermès,” Kawakubo said.
“In our project together, rather than wanting to wear the scarves, I was looking forward to the change that would happen when I added something to the beautiful ‘paintings’ of Hermès scarf designs. I think through the addition of abstract images, we have transformed the scarf and created something new,” she added.
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Bali Barret, creative director of women’s silks at Hermès, said, “Rei Kawakubo has stamped her vision on the Hermès scarf with rigor, precision, energy and salience.”
The Comme des Carrés collection will go on sale Feb. 6 at the Comme des Garçons shop in Paris, Feb. 7 at the Comme des Garçons shop in New York and Feb. 8 at the at the Comme des Garçons shop in Aoyama, Tokyo, and the Dover Street Market Ginza shop in Tokyo.
From Feb. 12, it will be available at the Dover Street Market shop in London. The collection will go on sale online at doverstreetmarket.com from Feb. 6 for the Couleur collection and from April 1 for the Noir et Blanc collection.
The scarves in the Noir et Blanc collection will be priced at about 380 euros, or $512 at current exchange, while those in the Couleur line will be positioned between 380 euros and 1,600 euros ($2,154 at current exchange).