Voo Archive Invites: dot COMME

dot COMME joins Voo Archive with pieces from one of the biggest private Comme des Garçons collections in the world. The archive is the work of Octavius La Rosa, whose personal fixation has become a reference point for collectors, researchers and institutions. Over time it has grown beyond Comme, pulling in designers in the same orbit. Junya Watanabe. Yohji Yamamoto. Issey Miyake. Walter Van Beirendonck. All connected by instinct more than history.

In Berlin, the pop-up arrives as dot COMME moves from Melbourne to Paris and takes on a more curatorial direction. Before the pop-up, we spoke with him about collecting as language, curiosity as method and keeping clothes alive long after the runway.

V: You’ve handled many pieces that once broke rules. What still feels risky to you now?

O: Trying something new.


V: You’ve lived between Melbourne and Paris. How do those two worlds shape the way you see and handle the archive?

O: I don’t think it really has much effect on me, building a collection is something more personal, based on my own research and predilections.


V: You hold one of the biggest private Comme collections in the world, and it’s drawn the eye of museums and researchers. Do you see yourself as a guardian of cultural history, or is that too heavy a word?

O: I wouldn’t say it’s the goal but it’s certainly a happy by product. I’m more interested in creating a collection for myself, filling holes where pieces are missing and generally creating a whole that represents the vision of the designers, the period to which it belonged, and my personal tastes as well.

V: Some pieces resist being archived, they fall apart, they age, they fight you. How do you know when to preserve something and when to let it go?

O: There are certainly particular materials I will avoid. If it’s in my possession, I’ll try to protect it as best I can, but sometimes you’re fighting an uphill battle. Of course I attempt to properly care for precious pieces in the collection as best I can, but as far as things I wear on the regular, I’m not too fussy about general wear and tear.


V: Is there a line or era in the Comme universe that you think deserves a second look, maybe a full re-evaluation?

O: I love 90s Junya - every collection. I think it could certainly be more highly regarded than it currently is. They are some very unique collections, and totally ahead of the time.