Comme des Garçons is a Japanese menswear and womenswear brand founded by Rei Kawakubo. Today, Comme des Garçons, also known as CDG, comprises no fewer than 10 different lines, spearheaded by Comme des Garçons Play, Comme des Garçons Shirt, Black CDG and Comme des Garçons Homme. Also known for its famous collaboration with Converse, this brand never ceases to surprise us with its products. To find out more about this alliance with Converse, we let you discover our article "The collaboration between Converse and Comme des Garçons" on our Graduate blog on this subject.
Although Comme des Garçons stocks a wide variety of labels, there's one garment, one product, that interests us: the t-shirt.
Discover a range of t-shirts in different colors, including black, white and red, with logos, patches, red hearts and unique sleeves. We let you discover our available selection of CDG t-shirts and find the one that suits your style.
Description of available CDG t-shirts
Comme des Garçons Play
With her Comme des Garçons Play range, Rei Kawakubo encourages us to have fun. The label's distinctive heart logo, invented by artist Filip Pagowski, can be found on almost all Comme des Garçons Play garments. The CDG Play t-shirt is made from cotton fabric entirely manufactured in Japan, from screen-printing to assembly. As previously mentioned, Comme Des Garçons Play's heart logo in all its forms and its color palette, which departs from the traditional black and white of CDG, make it unique. Rei likes to have fun with this heart logo, whether in terms of its proportions, its color (pink, blue or red) or its integration into its sweaters, hoddie and sleeved t-shirts.
As for the classic Comme Des Garçons Play t-shirt, it features the red heart logo patch simply embroidered on the chest. Since Comme Des Garçons Play is all about fun and color, we're seeing more daring iterations of the t-shirt, with prints and silkscreens that cover virtually the entire back or front, and powerful colors like red. It's also possible to find t-shirts combining the heart logo in the form of embroidery and other silkscreens for a better play on texture.
Comme des Garçons Shirt, wise and discreet
Much less flashy and eye-catching than the clothes from its counterpart Comme des Garçons Play, the Comme des Garçons Shirt collection plays with volume and presents a minimalist aesthetic with predominantly white or black t-shirts. Taking the example of the knit t-shirts, they feature a screen-printed "Comme des Garçons Shirt" text at the neckline. They may appear extremely simple, but what makes them so distinctive is their carefully crafted cut. Cut in an oversized style, just like the sweatshirts from the same collection, the knit t-shirt stands out from the typically smaller and more fitted cuts offered by Comme des Garçons Play.
Comme des Garçons Homme, technicality and sobriety
Once again taking Comme des Garçons Play as a point of reference, Comme des Garçons Homme once again offers a slightly different take on the T-shirt. Like Comme des Garçons Shirt, the Comme des Garçons Homme sub-label makes t-shirts with a slightly looser cut than Comme des Garçons Play, but with the same sobriety as Comme des Garçons Shirt, once again in colors such as black, ecru and white. A simple silk-screen print on the chest, 100% Japanese craftsmanship in a cotton fabric, and you're done.
Junya Watanabe, the avant-garde
Another label, but this time a little different: Junya Watanabe Man. Although attached to parent company Comme des Garçons, Junya Watanabe is a label in its own right, with its own vision. Very soon after Junya Watanabe joined the Comme des Garçons creative team, he quickly made a name for himself and became Rei's "protégé". Today, Junya Watanabe is one of the world's best-known designers for the quality of his collections, with their innovative cuts and seams. And like all good clothing brands, like Comme des Garçons Play, Junya Watanabe Man Man also offers T-shirts with which he has fun. Naturally, we find T-shirts made in Japan from cotton fabric and with a regular cut. Like the Comme des Garçons Play t-shirts, they feature large, screen-printed visuals to make the most of the space dedicated to them.
Which t-shirt to choose?
Before opting for a Comme des Garçons Play, Comme des Garçons Shirt or Junya Watanabe Man t-shirt, it's important to know whether you're looking for a discreet or more eccentric piece. In the case of a colorful piece, for example, a Comme des Garçons Play t-shirt may be just what you're looking for, but it's important to take another factor into account: the size. As a Japanese brand with somewhat different sizing standards, Comme des Garçons Play t-shirts run small. We therefore strongly recommend that you choose a larger size than the one you usually wear (size XXL available in stock).
On the other hand, if your first choice is for a t-shirt with a more sober aesthetic and a more voluminous cut, CDG Shirt could be a very good choice. A simple silk-screen print on the front or collar and an oversized cut. In terms of sizing, if the cut is oversized, your usual size will do. As for quality, almost all Comme des Garçons Play, Comme des Garçons Shirt, CDG Homme or Junya Watanabe Man t-shirts are made in Japan from cotton fabric. The last metric to look at before buying your CDG t-shirt is the price. Usually in the region of 90/100 euros, you're sure to walk away with a t-shirt made by a leading brand, with remarkable cotton quality and a well-crafted cut.
In short, whether it's Comme des Garçons Play, Comme des Garçons Shirt or Comme des Garçons Homme, all three labels offer a product similar in appearance, but with real differences. For a more daring side with a stricter cut, Comme des Garçons Play seems the obvious choice, while if you're looking for more amplitude and sobriety, Comme des Garçons Shirt will fully satisfy you. Our article "Who is Rei Kawakubo, emblematic figure of fashion ?" will help you find out more about this founder and her iconic garments.