Comme des Garcons require no introduction, Rei Kawakubo’s high fashion label is one of the most respected names around, not only in fashion – with the SHIRT and PLAY diffusions lines – but also with their perfume and of course wallets.

The same considered to design and incredible attention to detail that runs throughout all Comme des Garcons pieces can be seen in each and every wallet. Using only the finest, hand-dyed cow and goat hide leathers, the collection features a wide variety of styles in bold colours and subtly embossed patterns alike. Each wallet balances the CDG aesthetic with the durability required in such an everyday essential.

Comme des Garçons, despite it’s French name, is a Japanese fashion label that has built up a huge cult following since Rei Kawakubo started the brand in the early 70s. Through constantly striving to break the stereotypes and rules of modern fashion, Comme have developed a reputation as a progressive, maverick label with an output that is as different and thought provoking as it is aesthetically appealing.

Comme des Garçons’ first Paris catwalk show in 1981 caused great controversy. In stark contrast to all the other fashion houses who were showing, the Comme des Garçons collection was made up of black, distressed fabrics, which received a mixed reaction! Undeterred by this reaction, a Comme boutique was established in Paris only a year later, and is still there today. This willingness to think outside the box can still be seen today, from the unisex ‘anti’ parfums collections to the ‘Guerrilla’ stores (small stores, opened for just one year and sparsely decorated to minimise costs)

We will very soon be receiving our first delivery of the Comme des Garçons Play collection, with the now iconic ‘heart/face’ logo, which appears across shirts, polos, knitwear and even denim lines. Play is a contemporary ‘basics’ line and is designed by Junya Watanabe, with contributions from graphic artist Filip Panofsky, who created the iconic logo. Over recent years Play has gathered a legion of fans, through strong design and intelligent branding.

Just as eagerly anticipated is the arrival of Comme’s latest collaborative collection – a venture with Dover Street Market. For their first full clothing collection DSM looked to their own design ethos of making a collection that is “relaxed, accessible and discreetly irreverent.” The range displays Dover Street Market’s logo as a stencil or patch and plays with the idea of reversibility and replacement, with shirts made from alternating panels of fabric, creating two versions, a ‘positive’ and ‘negative’.

The quality and detail is some of the best around, with everything down to the placement of seams and stitches being considered. This highly limited range is testament to the creativity and free-thinking of both of these fantastic labels and as the pictures show, the execution could not have been better. We are genuinely over the moon to welcome Comme des Garçons to End and we’re sure everybody else will be too!