Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between (Exhibition Guide and Photo Album)

Guide brochure and photographic album published by the Metropolitan Museum of Art for its 2017 exhibit of avant-garde fashion designer Rei Kawakubo’s work for Comme des Garçons, the company she founded in 1973. Approximately 140 pieces of Kawakubo’s womenswear were displayed, organized thematically and spanning the period from the early 1980’s to the present. According to Roberta Smith of the New York Times, the exhibition design, a collaboration between Kawakubo and curator Andrew Bolton, achieved a “playful instability that complements the eccentric work of Kawakubo.” Items on display were not labeled, per Kawakubo’s request; instead, the printed brochure, written by Bolton, was supplied for guidance. The soft cover brochure is staple bound and consists of 10 sheets printed on both sides; it measures 4.5” x 11”. The accompanying photographic album is printed on heavy card, concertina folded. It contains an essay “What do Clothes Wear” by Mark Wigley along with 21 images of the gallery space. Folded, the album measures 8” x 11”. Both items are in near fine condition, still encased in an unopened plastic wrap.