EXCLUSIVE: Rei Kawakubo Has Her Way With Mikimoto Pearls

Is there anything in fashion more classic — some might even say staid — than a strand of pearls? Not when Rei Kawakubo gets involved. Mikimoto allowed the maverick designer to have her way with its cultured beauties, to which she added additional swags, meaty silver chains — and even a Comme des Garçons logo charm. The seven-piece collection is on display today at 6 Place Vendôme — a pearl’s throw from Mikimoto’s flagship Paris boutique — during couture week, also a showcase for fine jewelry. Priced from about $3,000 to nearly $40,000, the co-branded necklaces are to be sold from mid-February in Mikimoto’s flagships in Japan, plus Comme des Garçons boutiques in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Fukuoka, Paris and New York and five Dover Street Markets, retail emporiums that mingle Comme des Garçons with an eclectic range of brands. It’s the latest thrust into jewelry for Kawakubo and her husband Adrian Joffe, president of Comme des Garçons International and chief executive officer of Dover Street Market. Kawakubo said pearls prompt myriad associations, and “line up alongside diamonds in terms of value.” “If we talk about women’s jewelry, one usually thought of pearls. Recently I’ve noticed how men also look good when they wear pearls — the

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