In 2004, Singapore’s very own godfather of graphic design, Theseus Chan, helped establish the first Comme Des Garçons Guerrilla store in Singapore as part of the brand’s global Guerrilla occupation, which began in Berlin. This collaboration led to Adrian Joffe sharing the beautiful concept of Dover Street Market with Theseus, and the rest is history. Chan became instrumental in bringing this beautiful brand to Singapore’s shores.
WERK Magazine, Chan’s brainchild, was launched in 1997 as a highly experimental publication focused on pushing the boundaries of print media, design, and magazine production. Each issue is handmade, designed, and printed in Singapore (until the more recent 2-3 publications), and features contributions from a diverse lineup of artists.
The nineteenth issue of WERK was a collaboration with Comme des Garçons, published to celebrate Club 21’s new Comme des Garçons store in Singapore. Inspired by the rebellious nature of CDG, the cover of WERK Issue 19 features an assemblage of different materials. Hand-pasted, overlaid, and stenciled by an all-female creative team—an homage to Club 21’s opening in Singapore.
This issue also includes nine contributions from female artists in the form of essays, photographs, and artwork, each offering their interpretation of the prompt: “What does it mean to be a woman in a man’s world?”
Rei Kawakubo loved the issue so much that she decided to reproduce its vibrant artwork on shirts and pants for the Spring/Summer 2013 Comme Des Garcons Shirt menswear collection.
This baseball shirt features a print of the intricate handmade collage, juxtaposed with check and floral motifs.
Measurements:
Length: 71cm
Shoulder length: 43cm
Width: 48cm
Sleeve length: 20cm
