Rei Kawakubo.

PAOLO ROVERSI/©COMME DES GARÇONS

The Noguchi Museum in New York has named fashion designer Rei Kawakubo as the recipient of the 2019 Isamu Noguchi Award, which will be presented at the institution’s annual benefit on May 2. Kawakubo, the founder of the avant-garde fashion label Comme des Garçons, also co-founded the international retail enterprise Dover Street Market, and her work was the subject of a 2017 exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She received the Excellence in Design Award from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design in 2000.

According to a release, the award is “given to individuals who share Isamu Noguchi’s spirit of innovation, global consciousness, and commitment to East/West cultural exchange.” Previous winners include industrial designer Naoto Fukasawa, landscape designer Edwina von Gal, architect Tadao Ando, and artist Elyn Zimmerman.