Rei Kawakubo was interviewed by WWD.
She talks about the Spring Summer 2013 collection.
It is a very interesting interview. 

WWD: You often say your mission is to create clothes that never existed. Do you ever feel you are exhausting the possibilities?
Rei Kawakubo: “As the weight of experience piles up, it has become increasingly difficult to find yet new ways of thinking and to make new things.”

WWD: Many people become more conservative, less daring, as they get older. How about you?
R.K.: “I think the media has some responsibility to bear for people becoming more conservative. Many parts of the media have created the situation where uninteresting fashion can thrive.”

WWD: Are your collections personal—about what you want to wear, or how you are feeling? Where does the impulse come from?
R.K.: “My intention is not to make clothes. My head would be too restricted if I only thought about making clothes.”

WWD: Was “Crush” any commentary on your flat, two-dimensional fall collection? Or did the idea come from somewhere else?
R.K.: “I can honestly never remember clearly what I was thinking about at the time. I was only trying to make something completely new. There is never more meaning than that. I was not thinking about the age of Internet when I was making the fall-winter 2012 collection.”

WWD: Surely it’s not possible to produce a collection like “Crush” by sketching. Do you always drape, always sketch, a combo of the two, or some other approach?
R.K.: “Yes, you’re right. I made this collection on a table, and worked on the clothes like a sculptor would work on a sculpture. It was all made by hand.”

WWD: If you could have invented one garment, what would it be, and why?
R.K.: “I would have liked to invent the plain white shirt, with a skirt and pants to go with it.”

WWD: Fashion today seems to be more about big business and profits than pure creative expression. Do you agree, and if so, how do you feel about it?
R.K.: “Yes, it’s true.…And it’s weakening the power of creation. This is the worst of situations.”

WWD: You helped popularize design collaborations. Is it still a stimulating and fruitful path for you?
R.K.: “I am always thinking that some interesting possibility, some accidental synergy could occur in a collaboration, and people seem to like it. Even though it is difficult, it is easier for me to make my own things, by myself.”

[via wwd]