What are you bidding on at the Comme des Garçons auction?

An upcoming Rei Kawakubo Comme des Garçons auction contains over 500 lots of rare fashion.

We’re officially in the age of the fantastic fashion auction. Between the multiple, blowout Iris Apfel auctions earlier this year, the renown fashion expert auction house Kerry Taylor Auctions hosting its first U.S. auction in May and seemingly one amazing, archive fashion auction after the other, one thing is clear: auction houses are ramping up their focus on fashion more than ever before. Collectors can’t get enough. So it’s no surprise that 2025 is bringing us possibly the most extensive public Comme des Garçons auction in fashion history.

Titled Rei Kawakubo & Comme Des Garçons, 1969-1999, the auction will be held in Paris by Piasa, coinciding with Paris Fashion Week on October 1st, 2025. Pulling from the infinite archive of collector Hiroaki Narita, over 500 (!) lots will be up for sale, reportedly including rarities dating as far back as 1969. For reference, the Comme des Garçons label was started in Tokyo by Rei Kawakubo in 1969 but only established as a company in 1973. It’s rare to find Comme des Garçons pieces from the 1970s, sometimes near impossible; even in a museum setting.

Narita’s vast collection includes everything from deconstructed outerwear and distressed sweaters from the 1980s, to printed shoes from the Chic Punk Autumn–Winter 1991 collection and the sharp metal vest from Refresh the Spirit Spring–Summer 1990. Along with that, there will be pieces on offer from some of the brand’s most historic collections including Body Meets Dress, Dress Meets Body (1997), Noir (1988), Metamorphosis (1994) and of course, Pirates (1981). Estimates range from €150 – €2,000. The full catalog is not live yet but will be available closer to the date.

Narita himself has a background in the Japanese art market and acquired his extensive curation by sourcing pieces from all over Japan. His 15-year-old son Simon also photographed the exhibition catalog. It’ll also be interesting to see if any of the rare pieces featured in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 2017 “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between exhibition are available for purchase. To underscore the importance of this auction, it’s worth noting the 2017 exhibition only featured 140 examples of Kawakubo’s work, only originating from the 1980s to present. This auction will contain over 500 lots.

Remember when Julien’s Auctions sold Jean Michael Basquiat’s SS87 Comme des Garçons coat for over $28,000 in 2018? Whether or not you decide to try your luck bidding on some of the items at the Comme des Garçons auction, if you’re in Paris at the time, you should definitely visit the exhibition preview from September 26th to 30th. We know we’ll be skipping some of our usual fashion week shows to do so.

Rei Kawakubo & Comme des Garçons, 1969-1999 Live Auction
October 1st, 2025 – 2 PM
118, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré
75008 Paris
Public exhibition
From September 26th to 30th
10 AM to 6 PM (11 AM to 6 PM on the 27th, 2 PM to 6 PM on the 28th)