SS21 Comme Des Garcons Shirt x Yue Minjun “Laughing Man” Coach Jacket

Since its inception in 1988, Comme des Garçons Shirt has always been an exercise in subversion for Rei Kawakubo. Taking something as simple as a shirt and unraveling it, twisting it, and rebuilding it with new intent. Kawakubo has used the line as a blank slate, continuously reworking the familiar through a myriad of old and new CDG tropes.

Beyond reinventing wardrobe staples, collaboration lies at the heart of the sub-line. Each season, new voices enter the conversation. Brands and creatives such as Lacoste, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Supreme, Ado, and more. Each leaving their imprint and turning garments into dialogue.

For Spring/Summer 2021, Kawakubo handed the brush to Yue Minjun, a key figure in China’s Cynical Realism movement, whose unsettlingly joyous self-portraits blur the line between humor and hysteria. His signature grinning figures, known as the “Laughing Man,” concurrently serve as a response to the tumultuous political landscape of China in the ’80s and ’90s.

In this collection, Minjun’s motif sprawled across jackets, shirts, trousers, and sneakers, transforming classic silhouettes into wearable canvases. At first glance, the imagery feels lighthearted, almost comical. But look closer, and the laughter stiffens, revealing a sharp commentary on modern disillusionment and forced optimism.

Beneath the bold prints and chaotic smiles, the collection remained true to CDG’s design language: patchworking, deconstruction, asymmetrical layering, and a deliberate juxtaposition of colors and materials. The playful yet subversive aesthetic reinforced the brand’s ongoing dialogue between art, fashion, and rebellion.

This lightweight jacket, a classic Comme des Garcons Shirt silhouette, features the Laughing Man print. A reflection of the collection itself, where satire and political commentary were quite literally stitched into the seams.

Tagged Size L

Measurements:

Length: 79cm

Shoulder: 45cm

PTP: 53cm

Sleeve: 67cm

Hem: 52cm