COMME des GARÇONS Channels Its History in Artek Collaboration

COMME des GARÇONS is known for its simplistic palette, avant-garde designs, and for having a rich archive that dates back to the early ’70s, and over the years it has worked with countless others to create rarities that many hear of, but never see. Today it has announced that, as part of the Holiday 2021 collection, it has partnered with Artek to create a collection of furniture.

For those unaware, the connection between COMME des GARÇONS and Artek is not as obscure as it first seems. Back in the ’80s, Rei Kawakubo made furniture for her stores in Tokyo and Paris, and went on to make a small selection of pieces available to buy. Today they’re grail-status worthy and belong to museums or dedicated CdG collectors, who may have once got their hands on her wildly controversial chairs that were sold in the furniture-dedicated store she opened in Paris in the late 1980s.

Of course, Kawakubo’s offerings were stark and often made from metal, or wood like this Artek collaboration. Here, COMME des GARÇONS takes on Alvar Aalto‘s signature Stool 60 and Chair 66 alongside the four-legged Stool E60 and a bench made from two Chair 66 models sharing a plank between them, and another made from the Stool 60 with a similar plank design.

Florals and radishes combine with butterflies on one set of chairs and stools, while another set is centered around an underground graffiti graphic. Elsewhere, Disney‘s Mickey Mouse appears on a Stool E60, and others are served up in a traditional natural wood hue alongside padded cushion seats in a variety of checkered patterns.

Launching exclusively at COMME des GARÇONS‘ Aoyama store, Osaka store, Marunouchi store, Kyoto store, and Fukuoka stores on December 4, the collection will retain from ¥72,600 JPY to ¥275,000 JPY (approximately $640 — $2,400 USD). Check out the collaboration above.

In other news, IKEA Japan is renting out “tiny homes” for less than $1 USD a month.