90s remix with Comme Des Garcons and Yohji Yamamoto
Where do you stand on the current nineties mania? Over it already or fully paid up member of the revivalist club? I’m still in the latter camp; the ’90s was my decade in terms of defining a style and an aesthetic. I clearly remember being enthralled by all things Lang, Comme and Yohji although my budget rarely stretched beyond a CDG tee or a Lang fragrance.
Contradiction was a big part of the appeal – deconstructed pieces at top end prices and certainly the craziness of Rei Kawakubo’s playful luxury (an all too common concept now but not then). Which brings me to the present. Coincidence or not, both houses have launched new fragrance lines that promote contradiction. Comme Des Garcons’ trio of Blue unisex fragrances subverts traditionally ‘fresh’ scents of pine and quinine by adding their opposite number – warm sandalwood, incense and cedarwood. I wasn’t initially convinced by this concept – I much prefer my incense and sandalwood untainted – but actually, the hot-cool combo complements our British summer rather aptly. Clever Comme…
Yohji Yamamoto’s line by contrast is a greatest hits rerelease, with six scents updated for today’s market by ‘nose’ Olivier Pescheux. For Yohji it’s always about the contradictions between masculinity and femininity, well ahead of the androgyny curve with his celebration of strong, sensual women (and men). That goes for the packaging too. I admit I’m mostly swayed by these handsome bottles and graphic type. If you buy the pure perfume of ‘Yohji Senses‘, it comes in a cobalt blue box that opens up into an origami-inspired flower…
Buy the Yohji Yamamoto fragrance collection at Selfridges here
Buy Comme Des Garcons Blue exclusively at Selfridges here
