Rei Kawakubo
Dover Street Market is a retailer that mainly sells high fashion products, but also features items from more urban, streetwear brands. The concept of Dover Street Market was largely based upon the Kensington Market that was the fashion hub for Britain for over 40 years. Taking from Kensington Market, Rei Kawakubo and Adrian Joffe sought to create a store that aimed to be a stockist for their own brand, Comme des Garçons, as well as other brands and designers that they saw fit to curate their store with. The aesthetic direction that Rei Kawakubo and Adrian Joffe was a very unorthodox approach compared to how usual high department stores looked like. With their particular direction in mind, Dover Street Market over the years has collaborated with the Frieze Art Fair, the Michael Hoppen Gallery, and the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) to showcase work throughout the store. When asked to describe her store, "Beautiful chaos", is how once Rei Kawakubo characterized Dover Street Market.