The Alienating Garments of Rei Kawakubo

Helen Lasichanh, the wife of the musician Pharrell Williams, made her arrival at the Met Gala this past week seemingly bedecked in Design Within Reach. Her suit, in two shades of red, boasted inflated tights and hips and exaggerated shoulder pads, like one might find on a coat of armor. Most strikingly, the suit had no arm holes, giving the appearance of having swallowed its wearer whole. Online commentators had their expected field day, comparing Lasichanh to all sorts of couches and chairs. Teletubbies were invoked, too.

Yet those mocking the outfit are themselves missing the joke. Lasichanh’s suit—audacious, and, yes, very funny—is the work of Rei Kawakubo, the mischievous Japanese designer behind the line Comme des Garçons, whose outlandish designs are currently on view at the Met’s Costume Institute. The