Yohji Yamamoto

Since his 1981 Paris debut, Yohji Yamamoto has been closely aligned aesthetically to his compatriot, Rei Kawakubo. Because of his technical dressmaking prowess and his interest in re-constructing historical Western dress, Yamamoto’s work is less conceptual than Kawakubo’s. While Yamamoto has retained the deconstructed elements and the dark color palette on which he and Kawakubo built their reputations, his collections since the mid-1990s have been sweepingly “lyrical” and even “romantic.” He often combined recognizable Western silhouettes, such as bustled coats and crinolated dresses, with unorthodox materials, such as the felt that covers billiard tables or striped silks that resemble mattress ticking, to create the most beautiful of avant-garde fashions.

Born in 1942, Yamamoto never met his father, and was raised by his war widow mother, Yumi. A dressmaker by trade, she encouraged her son to become an attorney. He graduated with a law degree from Keio University but never practiced—the lure of becoming a designer pulled Yamamoto into fashion. Like his mother, he began as an anonymous creator, then formed his company in 1977. Over the course of more than thirty years, Yamamoto won prestigious awards and was even the subject of a 1989 film by director Wim Wenders entitled Notebooks on Cities and Clothes. Sadly, Yamamoto faced the bankruptcy of his company in 2009. Although he quickly found a new backer, the global economic crisis of 2008-2009 contracted his global retail presence.

Even though his recent work has often embraced the sweeping romanticism of post-war Parisian haute couture, Yamamoto’s historical re-contextualizations contrast sharply with the work of marquee western designers. Deliberately absent have been the requisites of a contemporary high fashion wardrobe: high heels, rising hemlines, plunging necklines, and sheer fabrics. The lack of such gender specific characteristics connects the aesthetics of his gowns to his beloved, trademark suits.

Yamamoto’s dark, masculine suits and coats, sometimes paired with his famous white shirts (for both men and women), have long been among his most enduring and compelling products. The suits and shirts display his virtuoso tailoring skills as well as his love of vintage styles. A New York retailer noted that these items are wonders of construction and that in them, “the inner workings of Yamamoto’s very personal vision could be seen.”