Comme des Garçons “White Drama”, Cristóbal Balenciaga “Fashion Collector” & PGL by Pigalle // Les Docs, Paris.

Les Docs, Cité de la mode et du design is a series of industrial buildings located on the Left Bank between the Gare d’Austerlitz and the Bibliothèque François Mitterand. These buildings have recently undergone a radical architectural renovation by architects Dominique Jakob & Brendan Macfarlane of JAKOB + MACFARLANE, reopening earlier this year as the home to the French fashion institute, and event space dedicated to fashion and design.

You may recall that I recently blogged about a design exhibition which was held at Les Docs during Paris Design Week. Here are three other things I saw there which were not related to the Design Week that caught my attention.

Images from “Comme des Garçons: White Drama” exhibition. Photos © yellowtrace.

Rei Kawakubo, the designer behind Japanese fashion label Comme des Garçons, created an intriguing exhibition of her spring/summer 2012 collection titled “White Drama” (on show from April 13 until October 7, 2012).

The exhibition showcased monochrome pieces from the collection, which magnified the four stages of life – birth, marriage, death, and transcendence. Kawakubo conceptualised the installation design and styled it in the same way as they appeared in her runway show – in giant clear plastic bubbles. Striking, theatrical and avant-garde in signature Comme des Garçons style. Oh yeah.

Images from “Cristóbal Balenciaga: Fashion Collector” exhibition. Photos © yellowtrace.

One of history’s greatest couturiers, Spanish designer Cristóbal Balenciaga, was an avid collector of period pieces that gave him inspiration for his elaborate cocktail dresses and evening coats. From April 13 until October 7, his collection was also on display at Paris’s Les Docks in the exhibition titled “Cristóbal Balenciaga: Fashion Collector.”

Organized by Palais Galliera with the support of the House of Balenciaga, the show featured more than 70 costumes from he 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. The show is divided into six sections, each reflecting a specific type of garment that Balenciaga collected and drew inspiration from: collars, coats, and capes; lace; folklore and regionalism; historicism; geometric forms; and ceremonial robes. Spectacular!

PGL by Pigalle. Photos © yellowtrace.

PGL by Pigalle by Stéphane Ashpool’ is a brand new fashion boutique at Les Docs offering a a smart mix of high-fashion, street-wear and a selection from it’s own menswear line Pigale. The interior is one of the most imaginative ones I’ve seen in a while – bright, vivacious and animated with primary colours that contrast the building’s industrial raw qualities. Extreme love!

[All photos © yellowtrace.]