dot COMME Collection Store in Melbourne by Sibling Architecture

Singular design vision is difficult to come by these days. In a time when all of us are hyper-connected through various digital channels and social media, the overall global aesthetic is becoming homogenised through deliberate and subconscious acts of cloning. This is becoming a massive problem, isn’t it? Well not so for Melbourne-based Sibling Architecture. These guys are managing to remain fresh AF in their boundary-pushing, multidisciplinary approach, and their latest project – dot COMME Collection in Melbourne’s Curtin House is a fine example of such thinking.

dot COMME Collection displays a curated selection of 100 key archival vintage garments from avant-garde Japanese designers COMME des GARÇONS, Yohji Yamamoto & Issey Miyake, and Belgian designer Walter Van Beirendonck. These garments are carefully researched and dated from specific collectable seasons, and play an important role in 20th and 21st-century fashion history. Such a significant and visionary fashion collection required an equally stimulating, gallery-like interior.

Sibling Architecture’s starting point was a simple white cube synonymous with gallery spaces. The design team has expertly pushed this simple spatial typology by playing with silhouettes and textures, much in the same way the designers of the pieces in the dot COMME Collection have done with their garments.

The white walls become bulbous and three dimensional, while the warped mirrored surfaces distort the garments and surrounding context. Doors are concealed within the undulating walls and reveal a luxurious change room within. The minimalist approach to the colour palette allows the clothes to shine. Furniture pieces by Gaetano Pesce and Memphis Milano from Octavius La Rosa’s personal collection complete this confident, playful and directional interior.

As an avid fashion collector, Octavius La Rosa founded online shopping platform dot COMME in 2013. The collection presently consists of over 3,000 pieces, with a primary focus on Comme des Garçons. It features key pieces from every collection since the 1970’s including over 20 sculptural garments from the recent runways (2012-2018).

La Rosa started out selling pieces on eBay to fund the collection which evolved into an online store in 2013 and then grew into a physical retail space in Melbourne’s CBD. Visitors are invited to sit and browse the online archive, where they can choose from a larger selection of garments to try on. These are collected from the archive room located via another concealed door.

dot COMME Collection is located at Level 4, 252 Swanston Street Melbourne (one level above the original level 3 store which will remain open and houses the more everyday wear from these designers.) The permanent space is open 7 days a week and will feature future installations and fashion exhibitions.