What happens when you take a Burberry trench—a paragon of British heritage—and send it through the avant-garde lens of Comme des Garçons (CDG)? The result is a garment as rebellious as it is refined, as anarchic as it is iconic. At $4,000 (¥609,400, if you’re feeling particularly international), CDG’s latest remix of the classic trench is as much a statement about fashion’s cultural underpinnings as it is a literal upgrade to your wardrobe.
More Than a Coat, It’s a Commentary
On the surface, this British-made trench looks like the quintessential Burberry piece: tailored to perfection, draped in history, and finished with the brand’s signature tartan lining.
But CDG, under the daring creative eye of Rei Kawakubo, doesn’t settle for “quintessential.” This trench is adorned with polished studs—sprinkled across the shoulders, arm, and storm flap—turning the coat into a wearable tribute to punk’s DIY ethos.
Inside, the iconic tartan isn’t just an homage; it’s a callback to Burberry’s heritage, reimagined as a witty complement to CDG’s own signature patterns.
To those unfamiliar with CDG’s ethos, this may seem like a glorified studding exercise. But for devotees of the brand, it’s a layered cultural critique wrapped in a trench coat. It’s Kawakubo at her best: taking the familiar, distorting it just enough to challenge its conventions, and presenting it as something entirely new.
The Art of Provocation
Why pay $4,000 for a coat that, to the untrained eye, looks like it’s been lightly vandalized? Because this is more than fabric and embellishment—it’s an embodiment of CDG’s semi-anarchist philosophy.
Kawakubo has built an empire by rejecting fashion’s conventional wisdom. Her early days saw knitwear with deliberate holes and skirts with asymmetrical hems that defied traditional tailoring. This trench carries forward that irreverence. It’s a nod to the early punk movement’s battle jackets, patched and studded as acts of defiance. Here, Kawakubo gives us a version for the luxury set: rebellion neatly tailored, lined in tartan, and priced for those who appreciate the nuance of her vision.
The trench’s seemingly minor modifications—studs, stitching, logo—aren’t lazy additions. They’re deliberate provocations, a wink to CDG’s ethos of taking the road less traveled. It’s the sartorial equivalent of a well-placed smirk.
Heritage Meets Hijinks
This isn’t CDG’s first foray into Burberry territory. Just over a year ago, the brand released a patchworked Burberry trench with interior tartan and scrawled slogans. It was equally polarizing and equally expensive, but that’s the point. CDG isn’t chasing mass appeal; it’s chasing a philosophy.
There’s also a strategic genius to this approach. By subtly tweaking an established classic, CDG creates an entirely new product that doesn’t just sit on the shoulders—it starts conversations. It’s a wearable history lesson that straddles the line between homage and critique.
Beyond Fashion: A Brand That Breaks Rules
If this trench coat feels like something only Comme des Garçons could pull off, you’re not wrong. Few brands have Kawakubo’s track record of redefining luxury with an anti-establishment twist. This is the brand that slashed holes into sweaters, partnered with Gucci and Louis Vuitton, and made collaborations with designers like Vivienne Westwood and Jean Paul Gaultier seem like natural extensions of its boundary-breaking DNA.
Even CDG’s collaborations with Burberry have been anything but predictable. From tartan holiday T-shirts to an early partnership with skatewear designer Gosha Rubchinskiy, Kawakubo has used Burberry’s heritage not as a template, but as a playground.
Rebellious Luxury or Sartorial Satire?
In the world of CDG, this trench is both a garment and a statement. It questions what luxury means in an era of mass customization, where logos reign supreme and collaborations blur the lines between artistry and commerce. Is it worth $4,000? For some, it’s a ridiculous indulgence. For others, it’s a masterclass in deconstruction, a wearable manifesto that challenges the rules of design and consumption.
This trench isn’t for everyone—and that’s the point. It’s for those who understand that fashion isn’t just about clothing; it’s about context, commentary, and creativity. It’s for those who see a studded Burberry trench and don’t ask “Why?” but “Why not?”
Because in the Comme des Garçons universe, rules weren’t made to be broken—they were made to be reimagined. And in this $4,000 trench, they’ve done just that, with studs, tartan, and a price tag that speaks volumes.
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Words by AW.
Photos corutesy of Comme des Garçons.