Kew tenants may have noticed the bright splashes of red and evocative imagery downstairs in the Rizzoli windows and wondered about the photographs on display. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is using the display space to promote its exciting spring exhibit at the Costume Institute and the attendant catalogue, Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between. The exhibit is The Met’s first show by a living designer since its 1983 Yves Saint Laurent exhibit.

The Met exhibition and the Rizzoli-designed fashion monograph center on the work of one of the world’s most visionary designers, Rei Kawakubo. The 74-year-old Kawakubo, raised in Japan and now based in Paris and Tokyo, is the founder of Comme des Garçons. Her designs have sparked conversation and criticism for having challenged conventions of fashion and, as the exhibition and catalogue demonstrate, her legacy as a fashion icon is secure. Her work and career have been documented by publications ranging from The New Yorker to The New Republic, which recently reviewed the exhibition, raving, “The clothes… are undeniable. Their presence felt like a statement: Here we are, the most influential forms from the least compromising genius.”

The Rizzoli catalogue covers four decades of the designer’s work, including sketches and insight into her creative process. We recommend that Kew tenants spend some time at the display, while we have a little piece of The Met right downstairs!

The window display will last until June 4th while The Met exhibition closes in early September. Enjoy both while they last.