Comme des Garçons
Rei Kawakubo's avant-garde Tokyo house. The all-caps wordmark is constant, so tag shape and the ubiquitous PLAY heart line do the dating.
- Origin
- Japan
- Founded
- 1969
- Category
- High Fashion
- Documented eras
- 4
How Comme des Garçons labels evolved over time. Match the markers below against the tag in hand to place a garment in its era.
1980–1989
Wide Logo-Only Tags
CdG became prominent in the 80s and expanded into womenswear; tags are wide rectangles carrying just the logo, sometimes the line, with no sizing.
- Comme des Garçons became a popular line in the 1980s, and quickly was expanded into a women’s line too
- The tags are wide rectangles with just the logo on them
- They may include the line too but no sizing information is included
How to spot it
A wide rectangular tag with only the logo.
Value signal
Strong; 80s CdG is a sought collector era.
1990–1999
Simple White Tags
Many 90s tags echo the 80s; a simple white tag, this example showing the logo twice.
- A lot of the 1990s tags were very similar to the 1980s ones
- This example shows the logo twice
- It is a simple white tag
How to spot it
A simple white tag, often the logo repeated.
Value signal
Solid; 90s CdG holds collector interest.
2000–2009
Designer-Reference Tags
Tags began referencing key designers and figures from the brand's history; many became longer and thinner, the logo filling the space, with some sizing.
- 2000s Comme des Garçons tags began referencing key designers and figures from the brand’s history
- Many of the tags became longer and thinner
- The logo would fill most of the space
- They also had some sizing information on them
How to spot it
A long thin tag, logo-dominant, with sizing.
Value signal
Common; condition-driven resale.
2010–2019
PLAY-Era Large White Tags
Lines like PLAY became hugely popular and usually signal a modern piece; size tabs grew consistent, on large white rectangles.
- Lines such as the PLAY line have become even more popular in the 2010s, and are usually a sign of a modern piece
- They also started to have sizing tabs included more consistently
- They are large white rectangles
How to spot it
Large white tags; a PLAY label means modern.
Value signal
Modern; the PLAY line aside, priced on the piece.