dot Comme

For four years, Holly-Rose Butler and partner Octavius la Rosa ran dot Comme as an online store. That changed in 2015, when they opened to the public in Curtin House.

dot Comme makes what’s buried in wardrobes in Tokyo accessible from every bedroom. It sources and sells an archive of Japanese and Belgian fashion from Comme des Garcons, Yohji Yamamoto, Issey Miyake, Junya Watanabe and Bernhard Willhelm to the world.

The duo is focused on getting Melbourne customers hooked on their ethos: “sick of easy fashion” (a quote by Belgian designer Walter van Beirendonck). To them, that means experimenting with different shapes, colours and patterns through the stable of designers who challenged the fashion establishment in the ’80s.

The Curtin House store is stocked with cheaper, more accessible pieces starting at $80. The online store continues to showcase more complex and rare items.

The gallery-like space was designed with help from Like Butter. It’s intended to reflect the range itself, a point best illustrated by a staircase display rack inspired by Issey Miyake’s staircase dress from 1994.

The walls are pink because that’s Butler and la Rosa’s favourite colour.