A Journey of Ritual, Repair, and Reflection for Comme des Garçons
MEND is a conceptual experiential activation created for Comme des Garçons. This invitation-only journey blends the brand’s iconic minimalism with the emotional ritual of repair, inspired by the Japanese arts of kintsugi and sashiko.
MEND invites guests to explore grief in all its forms. Not only the loss of someone, but the quiet fractures of identity, experience, or time.
Designed as a space for healing and growth, MEND guides guests through reflection, release, and the beauty found in what endures.
A Symbolic Gift
A white porcelain trinket tray, cracked and repaired with gold kintsugi seams, featuring the Comme des Garçons heart subtly broken and mended. Presented as a symbolic gift to selected influencers.
A Minimal, Mysterious Invitation to the MEND Experience
A simple invitation, designed with quiet minimalism to create mystery. Each invitation is presented alongside the branded kintsugi trinket tray as a symbolic gift for selected guests. A discreet QR code leads to the MEND website, where guests can register for their workshop and begin the journey.
Select Your Workshop
A minimal, invitation-only microsite designed in the visual language of existing Comme des Garçons websites. Guests access the site via the QR code on their printed invitation to register for kintsugi, sashiko, or both workshops. The clean, stripped-back design preserves the brand’s iconic minimalism while guiding guests quietly into the MEND experience.
Email Confirmation with Workshop Details and Passcode
An email confirmation sent to guests after registration. The message provides workshop details, date and time, guest status, the entry passcode, and location. The design reflects the clean, understated style of Comme des Garçons.
The Discreet Front to the MEND Experience
The outside of PLAY Records appears to be an ordinary vinyl record store. This unassuming storefront serves as the discreet entry point to the MEND experience, designed in the spirit of a modern speakeasy. Guests enter through this space before discovering what lies beyond the green door.
The name PLAY Records is an intentional nod to the Comme des Garçons PLAY brand — a subtle, fitting play on words. Beyond the name, I chose a record store as the front for this experience because music and grief are deeply intertwined. Music has a visceral way of drawing out emotion — of unlocking memories both joyful and painful. It moves us, heals us, transforms us. A record store, with its connection to a simpler, analog era, felt like the perfect entry point. It offers a quiet nod to our other senses: hearing, absorbing, feeling. What better threshold to a space of reflection and repair than one grounded in the universal language of sound?
The Unassuming Front for MEND
The interior of PLAY Records looks like an ordinary vinyl shop, designed to feel familiar and approachable. Discreet Comme des Garçons branded posters are placed throughout the space, offering subtle hints at the MEND experience concealed beyond the green door.
The Green Door. Concealing What Comes Next
A simple green door marked “STORAGE,” equipped with a keypad lock. This unassuming entrance conceals the invitation-only experience. Guests enter the passcode received in their confirmation email to unlock what lies beyond.
The green door, styled like an unassuming storage closet with a keypad lock, was inspired by the idea of a modern speakeasy. I was drawn to the sense of mystery and exclusivity it creates for guests. It invites a feeling of wonder and surprise — transforming a simple, hidden entrance into a threshold for something meaningful. This subtle layer of secrecy heightens anticipation, making the experience feel personal, intimate, and rare.
Workshop Space: A Sacred Setting for Kintsugi and Sashiko
A large, open white room designed to feel calm, focused, and intentional. The space hosts both the kintsugi and sashiko workshops, with vibrant red cube seating creating a subtle contrast and energy within the minimalist environment. The design aligns with the aesthetic of the Comme des Garçons brand—minimal, open, and understated—creating a setting that invites guests to engage in the quiet ritual of visible repair.
Kintsugi Kit: Essentials for the Ritual of Repair
Each guest receives a custom kintsugi kit designed for the workshop. The kit includes pre-cracked porcelain pieces, gold powder, tape, brushes, and all essentials needed to engage in the quiet, intentional ritual of mending what was broken.
Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. Rather than hiding cracks, it highlights them — turning damage into something beautiful. Kintsugi reflects the idea that brokenness and repair can create an object that is even more meaningful than before.
Sashiko Kit: Tools for Honoring Wear and Repair
Each guest receives a sashiko kit designed for the workshop. The kit includes a denim shirt, red and gold thread, white thread, and needles—providing all essentials to engage in the quiet, meditative practice of visible mending through traditional sashiko stitching.
Sashiko is a traditional Japanese hand-stitching technique that was originally used to reinforce or mend worn clothing. The stitch patterns are simple and geometric, blending strength and beauty. Sashiko embraces visible mending, celebrating imperfections as part of an item’s history and character.
Letter Writing Room: A Space for Reflection and Release
A large, open white space designed to invite quiet reflection. Warm candlelight and gold cylindrical seating create a sense of intimacy and calm. Here, guests are encouraged to write a letter about their grief, what they are ready to mend, or what they are prepared to let go of.
Ritual of Release
An intimate, softly lit space designed for quiet letting go. Guests who wish may choose to burn their letter inside a large gold bowl as a symbolic act of release. The ritual encourages reflection, surrender, and the emotional freedom that comes with letting go.
A Collective Art of Letting Go
Guests who choose not to burn or take their letters may contribute them to the Letter Wall. This installation forms a visual art piece—a suspended collection of sealed letters that symbolizes what we each carry, the process of letting go, our shared vulnerability, and the quiet strength found in release.
Exclusive Pieces Available Only at MEND
A minimal, light-filled space offering exclusive merchandise available only at the MEND experience. Guests can purchase limited edition t-shirts featuring the Comme des Garçons MEND broken heart logo, as well as sashiko-mended denim jackets—each piece designed to reflect the beauty in visible repair.
Exclusive MEND T-Shirt: Comme des Garçons Broken Heart Edition
A limited edition t-shirt created exclusively for this experience. The design features the iconic Comme des Garçons heart, subtly cracked but still whole, with MEND beneath it. A visual symbol of grief, resilience, and the beauty found in repair.
A Soundtrack for Reflection and Healing
A limited edition white vinyl record designed exclusively for the MEND experience. The minimalist sleeve features the Comme des Garçons broken heart MEND logo. The curated playlist offers a meditative soundtrack, inviting guests to continue their journey of reflection, release, and renewal beyond the space.
A Minimal Vessel for What’s Carried Home
Each guest receives their purchases and workshop creations in branded minimalist packaging. White paper bags and boxes, branded with the CDG MEND broken heart logo, reflect the quiet strength and intention of the experience. A simple, thoughtful vessel for what has been chosen, created, or mended.