Adrian Joffe: How Comme Des Garcons turned retail into an art form

The president and chief executive of Comme Des Garcons International & Dover Street Market on how creativity can fuel business

Adrian Joffe of des Garcons

Sat at a corner table in the Rose Bakery, the top-floor cafe of Dover Street Market's sprawling new location on London's Haymarket, Adrian Joffe is in a philosophical mood. "I've never liked this distinction between 'artist' and 'non-artist'," he says. "People can be creative in their life – it doesn't have to mean actually making something. There's more than just the physical level."

Creativity, for Joffe, is a fluid process that can flourish in any discipline – in his case, business. In 1987, he became commercial director of Comme des Garcon s (CDG) – the revered conceptual Japanese fashion label founded by his wife, Rei Kawakubo, in 1969. Five years later, he was of Comme des Garcon International, in charge of overseeing its operations outside Japan. Each is an innovator in their field, and over the last few years the pair have embarked on groundbreaking projects that blur the line between art and consumerism. This has included CDG branching out into no less than 18 sister brands, a strategy that has allowed the label to explore different markets with a focused approach, from deconstructed shirting to accessories. The brand's suitably experimental fragrance collection has bottled the scent of everything from French Gothic cathedrals (Series 3 Incense: Avignon) to the dust on a hot lightbulb (Odeur 71).

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