dotCOMME opens a new space in Paris We asked its founder Octavius La Rosa a few questions during the venue’s first days
For those who love Comme des Garçons and, more broadly, those who love clothes—not images, but the act of dressing—dotCOMME is undoubtedly one of the best realities in the landscape of curated archive stores. From their meticulous selection to the care they put into everything, from how they tell the story of each collection to the people working with them, everything is coherent and perfectly in tune. Back in September 2024, after their main headquarters in Melbourne, they opened a space in Paris—but now, they’ve taken it further and moved into a proper street-level location. Alongside an incredible selection of Comme des Garçons pieces, you'll find Walter Van Beirendonck, Junya Watanabe, Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto, and Undercover.
When asked to briefly introduce himself and share when Dotcomme came to life—even though it’s hard to summarize in just a few lines—Octavius, its founder explains: "Dotcomme was started by myself in Melbourne 15 years ago. It began as a personal obsession with Comme des Garçons from a trip to Japan." We then talked about the decision to move to Paris, wondering whether it was a personal choice or simply the right next step, a question that Octavio answers without any hesitation: "It had to be done. Paris made sense for a lot of reasons. We’d done around six pop-ups here over the years, and it just felt like home. It was the natural next step." And indeed, the opening of the new space in Rue du Roi de Sicile, located in the district of Le Marais, happened naturally, almost easily, as Octavius explains that "the old space was beautiful and hidden. Now we’re surrounded by people, and it’s so much easier for our community to drop by. It’s also a space where we can do more: host events, dinners, performances, pop-ups, and collaborate with artists."
Naturally, we were curious about how often he travels to Japan. "I go every year" he explains. "It’s getting harder and harder to find anything good. I’m just glad I got what I did when I did - because now it’s almost impossible." Finally, we brought up a more playful thought: asking Octavius if he ever talks to his clothes. "We are looking at another space in Paris to house the archive of 5,000 pieces, and we joked that I should just live there. But I don’t think the clothes and I would last... it’d get complicated" he answered. If you take a walk at Places des Vosges or next to Rue de Rivoli, we strongly advise you to take a break at the brand new dotCOMME space, say hi to Octavius and his impressive fashion collection.
