Rei Kawakubo and Adrian Joffe’s continuing legacies are defined by their COMMES de GARÇONS brands and Dover Street Market retail locations. With their combined acumen for design and business know-how, the husband and wife duo remain as a beacon for conceptual thinkers who yearn for avant-garde products, progressive brands and awe-inspiring art.

It was hard to keep up with COMMES de GARÇONS and DSM’s year with all the partnerships, releases and special events coming from its numerous brands. Footwear wise, there were too many exclusive drops to call out but the few that did make an impact were the monochromatic Dover Street Market x adidas Stan Smiths, the COMME des GARÇONS’ deconstructed Nike Air Force 1 Mid, the COMME des GARÇONS HOMME PLUS x Nike Air Max 95, a capsule of colorful COMME des GARÇONS PLAY x Converse Chuck 70s and the COMME des GARÇONS Nike Blazer Mid in collaboration with tennis star Naomi Osaka.

For clothing and other special pieces, the year began with a new round of Gucci x Dover Street Market capsule collection — chic ‘70s-influenced coats, knits, shorts, blazers and leather jackets made up the small range. For its 40th anniversary, streetwear stalwart Stussy linked up with COMME des GARÇONS for a celebratory varsity jacket. The piece, which sold out instantly, features patches of both brands’ logos and silhouettes of clothing staples at the sleeves. Lastly, for the Japanese streetwear purists, BAPE and COMME des GARÇONS launched a special collection together which was housed in a customized BAPE Store® space at the concept retailer’s Osaka location.