Tao by Comme Des Garcons closes doors

To the dismay of fashion insiders, Tao by Comme Des Garcons,

has shut doors, announcing that the Spring 11 collection shown last October in Paris will be its last. Tao Kurihara, the young Japanese founder and designer, behind the Tao label which trades within Rei Kawabuko's Comme des Garcons umbrella, showed her first collection in March 2005.

A Tao spokesperson told WWD, “Tao wants to have a change of lifestyle and prefers to concentrate her creative energies on the ever popular label Tricot Comme des Garçons, shown in Tokyo twice a year.”

However it’s not clear whether her reason for leaving was this personal or whether there were financial issues behind it.
One thing is for sure, the fashion set will miss the Tao label. Having trained with Junya Watanabe for eight years previously, Kurihara, under Kawabuko’s watchful eye, became an admired part of the CDG vanguard with her small, concentrated collection, which focused on a particular theme each season. For instance, this season, took inspiration from lingerie - translating wool and lace into corsets and little shorts - it was a lighter, less conceptual, more wearable take on Japanese conceptualism.

The CDG group investment isn’t all lost though – with Tao still focusing her efforts and abilities within their infrastructure.