The sea between old and young fashion is becoming bigger and bigger. What is relevant and cool to a 16-year-old and a wealthy 50-year-old or older can no longer be properly represented by one large brand. Dior succeeds, Gucci no longer, Saint Laurent struggles, Celine does it well, Chanel tries but the only designer who has relevance to all age groups who are interested in fashion is by far Rei Kawakubo and Comme des Garçons. Maybe it is the name only? Weird, cool, familiar, childish. But at the end of the day, it is the clothes and by referencing Yves Saint Laurent and Schiaparelli in her latest men’s collection yesterday, Kawakubo came up with a whole new notion for men – the clown. Saint Laurent had a collection based on the circus hero in 1972 and Schiaparelli continuously referenced clowns in her work. Kawakubo went there and refined the YSL vibe with the soundtrack by Erik Satie and a piece called Parade from the Balletts Russes which added a regal spirit. Using colorful wigs or hair pieces often made from hair bands and flowers on all looks, Kawakubo also used clown staple oversized shoes on most looks with undulating strands of leather covering the shoe.  This collection was very much grounded in fine tailoring with mostly coats and jackets worn with shorts, the go to pant version on catwalks for summer. The brocade fabrics in the closing coats with red and green discs perfectly ended a show which built from black stiff tailoring and then kept on building with the inclusion of pink. Interestingly, Prada used a Bernard Buffet’s clown portrait in their show expressing the need for humor or as Kawakubo put it: “I want to hope for some light, even if very small.”