When Vine star Cameron Dallas made an appearance at Calvin Klein’s most recent men’s show in Milan, people — okay, mostly teen girls — completely lost their shit. But the web celeb’s #frow sighting has now been eclipsed by one of fashion’s most rare, powerful Pokemon: Rei Kawakubo. Simultaneously one of the industry’s most admired and reclusive figures, the Comme des Garçons visionary graced Gosha Rubchinskiy’s fall/winter 16 show in Paris this afternoon.
Though Kawakubo has not posed for a portrait since 2004, her presence was well documented on social media with, as Vogue described, “the evangelical vigor of a religious group that had just seen their god.” Sporting a red leather jacket, Kawakubo sat beside her husband and Comme des Garçons’ president, Adrian Joffe — who reportedly only sees his wife about once a month, out of respect for her creative process.
The designer and Dover Street Market mastermind has long supported Rubchinskiy’s line as its producer and distributor, so her appearance at his show is pretty logical. But that doesn’t make it any less startling. Like another of fashion’s most beloved (and press-averse) designers — Martin Margiela — Kawakubo doesn’t take a bow at the end of her runway shows and very rarely grants interviews. She’s often maintained that the only way to get to know her is through her clothing.
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Text Emily Manning