Comme des Garçons Aoyama street-level storefront in Tokyo

Linhas da CDG explicadas: PLAY vs Girl, Homme Plus, BLACK e mais

CDG lines explained: Comme des Garçons is Rei Kawakubo’s Japanese fashion house, founded in Tokyo in 1969, with many sub-labels that look and price differently. U.S. shoppers usually meet PLAY, Girl, Homme Plus, Shirt, and BLACK. This guide separates those lines.

Cover photo: Akitoishii — Comme des Garçons Aoyama, Tokyo — public domain. Also on Wikimedia Commons. Resized for web.

The name is French for roughly “like boys,” tied to Françoise Hardy’s 1962 song “Tous les garçons et les filles,” as Wikipedia and Farfetch both report. Kawakubo took the house to Paris Fashion Week in 1981. Under president Adrian Joffe, the company grew a web of diffusion lines, fragrance, and Dover Street Market retail. For Harajuku streetwear context around the same decades, see Hiroshi Fujiwara and fragment and NIGO / BAPE.

Line Started Who it fits Quick tell
Main Comme des Garçons 1969 Runway / conceptual womenswear Kawakubo’s mothership collection
PLAY 2002 Everyday streetwear entry Heart-with-eyes logo; tees & knits
Girl SS2015 Feminine women’s daily wear School-uniform cues; not the PLAY heart
Homme 1978 Wearable menswear “Good Sense, Good Quality”
Homme Plus 1984 Experimental menswear Paris runway; deconstructed
Homme Deux 1987 Suiting / formal Business tailoring
SHIRT 1988 Shirt-led staples Prints, patchwork, everyday
BLACK 2009 Accessible unisex dark basics Recession-era diffusion

What Is Comme des Garçons PLAY?

AnOther, The Cut, Farfetch, CDG Archive, and the Financial Times all date PLAY to 2002. It is the casual, logo-led line most streetwear shoppers recognize first: T-shirts, hoodies, cardigans, knits, and accessories, often without a seasonal runway calendar.

The red heart-with-eyes mark was drawn by Polish graphic artist Filip Pagowski. AnOther quotes Pagowski saying the heart arrived independently of PLAY and later became the line’s logo. The FT reports that Kawakubo wanted an accessible counterpart to the conceptual main collection, with a mark as instant as Lacoste’s crocodile. PLAY pieces are offered for men, women, and children. CDG Archive dates the long-running PLAY × Converse Chuck Taylor heart collab to 2009. AnOther also notes PLAY projects with creatives including A Bathing Ape.

What Is Comme des Garçons Girl? (PLAY vs Girl)

Girl is a different door into the same house. Farfetch and CDG Archive date Comme des Garçons Girl to Spring/Summer 2015. CDG Archive says it succeeded Shirt Girl, which lived inside the Shirt line from spring/summer 2010 to autumn/winter 2014 (pink text on Shirt tags), then spun out as its own women’s diffusion line.

CDG Archive describes Girl as feminine and youth-oriented, drawing on childhood and school-uniform ideas, with the jumper skirt as a signature garment, daily-wear pricing relative to mainline, and no standalone runway show. Farfetch calls it Kawakubo’s feminine take on the CDG mindset. SSENSE lists tropes such as cardigans, pleated skirts, Peter Pan collars, and shorts that twist schoolgirl references.

Shopper contrast in one line: PLAY is logo-first casual basics built around Pagowski’s heart; Girl is silhouette- and detail-first womenswear. Girl is not defined by the PLAY heart. If you want a heart tee, you are in PLAY territory. If you want frills, ribbons, and uniform-adjacent skirts, you are closer to Girl.

Homme, Homme Plus, and Homme Deux

Menswear inside CDG is also split by intent. Homme launched in 1978 as the first menswear diffusion line. The Cut and CDG Archive cite the tagline “Good Sense, Good Quality.” CDG Archive says Junya Watanabe has led Homme since spring/summer 2004. It reads as wearable classics next to the runway lines.

Homme Plus is Kawakubo’s experimental menswear flagship. CDG Archive dates the launch to 1984, with a Paris debut for spring/summer 1985, and it still shows on the Paris menswear calendar. Expect unconventional proportion and deconstructed tailoring, not office suiting.

Homme Deux launched in 1987 as tailored businesswear. The Cut and Farfetch describe Japanese technique meeting Western suiting. CDG Archive notes a 2009 relaunch around “SUITS FOR THE HANDSOME MIND,” with no dedicated runway of its own. Short version: Homme = everyday menswear; Homme Plus = runway experiment; Homme Deux = suits.

SHIRT and BLACK Comme des Garçons

SHIRT started in 1988. The Cut says it began with a focus on the shirt and later grew into pants, jackets, and accessories. CDG Archive adds that early shirting was produced in Paris, and that the line reworks staples with prints, patchwork, and pattern play as a wearable counterpoint to mainline. Shirt Girl (2010-2014) sat here before Girl became independent.

BLACK is the recession-era everyday line. The Cut and CDG Archive’s timeline date BLACK to 2009, created in response to the 2008-09 financial crisis. The Cut reported pieces priced at about 60 percent of the collection line, launched as temporary, then kept because demand stayed. CDG Archive describes a mostly black, unisex diffusion that reworks archive ideas into practical leisurewear, first tied to an Isetan Shinjuku strategy. Farfetch lists 2008; this article follows The Cut and CDG Archive’s 2009 dating.

Wallet, Parfums, Noir Kei Ninomiya, and the CDG Lettermark

Wallet is the small-leather-goods lane: wallets, card holders, coin purses. The Cut flags bright color and polka dots. CDG Archive dates the line to 1994. Parfums began with an eponymous 1994 unisex scent The Cut and Wikipedia call an “anti-perfume.” Wikipedia notes the 2014 Pharrell GIRL fragrance with a bottle designed by KAWS. High-level only: scent is its own aisle, not a clothing line.

Noir Kei Ninomiya is Kei Ninomiya’s primarily black, sculptural womenswear label under the CDG family, started in 2012 after he joined as a patternmaker in 2008 (The Cut, CDG Archive). Do not confuse it with Kawakubo’s older “Comme des Garçons Noir” name. The bold CDG / CDGCDGCDG lettermark line launched in 2018 as a younger, internet-led logo line (WWD, Farfetch, CDG Archive).

Dover Street Market: Where the Lines Sit Together

Dover Street Market was founded by Kawakubo and Joffe. The first London store opened September 10, 2004 on Dover Street in Mayfair. Wikipedia and CDG Archive describe a multi-brand “beautiful chaos” format that stocks CDG lines beside outside labels, later expanding to cities including New York, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Singapore, Beijing, and Paris. AnOther notes that DSM’s opening made the CDG family of lines easier to see in one place. London later moved to the former Burberry building on Haymarket in 2016.

Why CDG Lines Matter for Asian Streetwear Shoppers

For more context, read the Asian Streetwear Guide and What Is Streetwear? 15 Streetwear Outfit Ideas.

FAQ

What does CDG lines explained mean?

It means mapping Comme des Garçons’ sub-labels so you know which hangtag you are buying. PLAY, Girl, Homme Plus, Shirt, and BLACK share a house but not the same design brief, price band, or logo language. This article is a shopper guide, not an official CDG catalog.

What is the difference between CDG PLAY and Girl?

PLAY (2002) is casual, seasonless, and built around Filip Pagowski’s heart-with-eyes logo on tees, hoodies, and knits. Girl (SS2015) is a women’s diffusion line with school-uniform and girlish details, spun out from Shirt Girl. PLAY is logo-led; Girl is silhouette-led. Girl is not the PLAY heart line.

When was Comme des Garçons founded?

Rei Kawakubo started the label in Tokyo in 1969. Wikipedia says the company was established in 1973. The Paris Fashion Week debut followed in 1981. Treat “1969” as the brand founding year used by Wikipedia, The Cut, and CDG Archive.

What is BLACK Comme des Garçons?

BLACK is a mostly black, relatively affordable unisex diffusion line. The Cut and CDG Archive date it to 2009, launched in response to the 2008-09 financial crisis. The Cut reported collection-relative pricing around 60 percent and said a temporary plan became permanent after strong demand.

What is Dover Street Market?

Dover Street Market is the multi-brand store concept Kawakubo and Adrian Joffe opened in London on September 10, 2004. It presents CDG lines and outside brands in rotating installations. Wikipedia lists further locations including New York, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Singapore, Beijing, and Paris.

Related reads

Voltar para o blogue