A creative pairing between artist KAWS and Comme des Garçons that began in 2007 with wallet and tee drops and resurfaced in full form for the SHIRT line’s FW21 capsule, using KAWS’ signature Companion/Chum characters and “XX” motif to reinterpret CDG’s graphic and garment language.

The collaboration kicked off in 2007 when Comme des Garçons commissioned KAWS for its “Sparkling Party” campaign, resulting in graphic‑heavy wallets and T‑shirts that fused his playful street iconography with CDG’s sub‑versive edge. These early items were limited in release and helped cement the synergy between KAWS’ soft‑sculpture, figurative aesthetic and CDG’s avant‑garde fashion logic.

Fast forward to Fall /Winter 2021: the CDG SHIRT label (a more accessible sub‑line of Comme des Garçons) presented a capsule collection designed in tandem with KAWS. The line featured button‑downs, gilets, T‑shirts, bags and outerwear richly printed in neon hues and bold graphics of the Chum figure and “CDG” spelled out in bubble letters by KAWS. The collaboration was shown during the mini‑runway presentation and dropped globally, with pieces ranging up to about USD 530

Why It Matters

The KAWS × Comme des Garçons collab is a textbook example of how street art and high fashion can intersect without losing the essence of either side. It introduced KAWS’ bold, graphic iconography into the lexicon of avant‑garde Japanese fashion, giving his work exposure to a collector base that might not have engaged with vinyl figures or gallery pieces. For CDG, it reinforced their reputation for playful reinvention and cultural relevance, showing that the brand could collaborate with contemporary artists while staying true to Rei Kawakubo’s forward‑thinking design philosophy. Beyond sales, it helped cement KAWS as a bridge between collectible culture, streetwear, and high fashion, influencing how brands approach artist partnerships today.