Yohji Yamamoto - Renegades of Fashion

[Music] [Music] every morning when I look at the mirror I found there is very old man it looks very tired and I talk to myself are you still wanting to fight this happens every day [Music] Yohji Yamamoto is a man who understands the power of endurance the product of a Japanese culture ravaged by war the progressive designer has built his 50 some year career on perseverance and a refusal to bend to the will of tradition from his initial struggles as an emerging designer to his incendiary debut on the world stage all the way through to the near collapse of his company in the wake of the global financial crisis Yamamoto has overcome every obstacle in his path and always on his own terms fashion is sometimes just strength sometimes just common sense sometimes just to pretend to be beautiful I never walked in the mainstream so I was walking in the dark side I didn't care about trend today his eponymous brand offering both men's and women's clothing remains his most commercially successful venture alongside the popular sub labels wise and youth line ground why - its principal lines poram and costume dong in 2018 the brand evolved yet again expanding into a line of perfume his innovation has led to groundbreaking collaborations and pop culture moments working alongside household names of fashion reinventing icons like dr. Martens whilst dressing icons of entertainment from Tina Turner to Elton John most particularly his trailblazing y3 range with the street sports giant adidas spurned a new wave of crushed genre collaborations paving the way for the now billion-dollar athleisure industry since all alone you homer storm I discussed others since the yoruba says oh man look what its gonna raised by his mother who worked as a dressmaker yeah my mother found himself identifying more with the women of his life his compassion for the opposite gender would eventually present itself through the construction of his Couture his collections are built primarily around the comfort and confidence clothing can provide for women uninterested in presenting them as objects of male desire his view of seeing women from behind especially on the neck and the backbone the often actually he present the correction which is a very daring black backless for example and it's all covered from front and that's quite surprisingly sexy upon his graduation at Bunka fashion College he moved to Paris to carve a name for himself in the world of fashion but it was a difficult time for the young designer he rented a tiny flat in the city and spent nine months showcasing his freelance designs and sketches to fashion magazines with little to no success oh I got a prize from school so I was sent to Paris about one year living in Paris we have nothing we are doing nothing I became like very very hopeless boy it's time in Paris although unsuccessful had convinced Yamamoto his calling was to become a designer I decided to come come back to the Japan started again just taking order and measurement and the cutting of fabric and the fitting for many type of customers outside the dress making shop Yamamoto began to freelance on the side his early designs set the template for the designs that would drive him to superstar status over the next decade asymmetrically cut clothing that was loose and elegantly layered designed to conceal rather than reveal a mysterious and elegant new form of chic that clashed with the rigid and geometrically precise lines that dominated Parisian fashion at the time typically Japanese women were wearing imported and very feminine things and I didn't like it I jumped on the idea of designing coats for women it meant something for me the idea of a coat guarding a home hiding the woman's body maybe I liked imagining what is inside actually I found it especially George's work I think his work is a highly sensual or sexy actually even only because it gives you actually a lot of imagination oh what's underneath and that's a really more exciting than actually like you know seeing everything like so in-your-face really after working freelance for a number of years yamamoto decided it was time to open his first ready-to-wear boutique wise however just as it had been during his tenure in Paris prospects as a store owner in those early years were bleak his flowing armhole dresses of linen and woven cotton failed to make an impact on a Japanese markets more interested in European and American fashion it was during this time that Yamamoto found an ally and partner in rake our kuba the eclectic designer and founder of Condor Ghassan despite radically different temperaments Yamamoto a relaxed affable personality quick to draw a smile and Carriacou bore the near inverse they shared a commonality in couture both were attracted to the abnormal unrestrained by conventional rules and tradition their aesthetic shared the same appreciation for the dirty the imperfect and the unencumbered through very different prisms both were searching for a new way to design for women it took a while to catch on but eventually Yamamoto found his success his first public collection in Tokyo in 1977 became an instant success and Weis capitalized quickly as it expanded through the entire country I had a map of Japan on the wall and I had a pin for each city where I had a connection with a shot by 1980 he had nearly covered the map the time had come for Yamamoto to once again try his hand on the world stage ignoring his past failings the designer opened a store in Paris in 1981 that same year he debuted at Paris Fashion Week in a collaborative show with Keira kuba that shook the foundations of traditional expectation when you came to Paris and showed your clothes were you conscious that what you were doing was so incredibly different to the fashion that it state never though I I was just thinking to open tiny shop in Paris that's it I didn't know such a movement such as such a wind was blowing I just wanted to shop there dark distressed oversized garments bore no resemblance to anything that had ever been seen before and sharply polarized the audience the reaction from the Parisian press was bitter and more divided than perhaps anything the fashion world had ever experienced influential trade paper WWD run photos of the collection scarred with black crosses over the top describing it as fit for intellectual bag ladies and little else the publication's lashed out at the designers coining the collections as Hiroshima and Holocaust chic everyone was still wearing high heels and sequins and this came along and we found it totally twisted we didn't understand the proportions the proportions the disproportion Zappos saw great clumpy shoes women in flat shoes with messy hair and no makeup with gigantic jumpers and their clothes weren't even finished they totally revolutionized European fashion ophea kérékou beau who actively sought to disrupt the status quo relished her criticism but for yamamoto the response was deeply upsetting i was simply looking for the idea for myself for my own excitement so it was naturally out of trend out of fashion I was panicked by the reaction I really felt I'd don't mean that I'm not coming here to Paris to say something against the fashion I just wanted to open my own small shop that's it despite the protestations of critics those same 30% who applauded the collection were converts to this new sense of design it was better it seemed the people to react with love or hate than simple indifference but for those who hated the collection their crusade against this divergent form of fashion was far from over after that first showcase from the next collection it became a war record Yamamoto I didn't want a war but too much attack made me fight can you talk a little bit about what the reaction was like when you showed in Paris because I knew afterwards because that moment there were so many stacked situation in fashion so specially buyers who are looking for new designer I didn't know that so after giving my opening show so many buyers rushed to my to my Paris office and my my office's elevator was broken by the bias I was shocked Yamamoto and Kawakubo who had endured their own vitriol following her debut in Paris upped the ante for their 1982 collection Kawakubo launched her seminal collection destroy an apocalyptic extension of her earlier work further fueling the antagonism between her and her detractors Yamamoto continued forging his own path together they began to be seen as an invading wave of Japanese design when one designer is thinking like that there is not so much reaction but because there were two it meant the army from Asia it was a curious statement for a designer whose influences had little to do with his own culture while Japanese traditions were lightly reflected in the loose kimono drape of his designs Yamamoto like most of Japan at the time found more interest in Europe and American aesthetic particularly the formation of punk fashion some 5 years prior to his Paris unveiling Malcolm McLaren Godfather of punk recalls both Yamamoto and kaua kuba as a pair of excellent customers when they arrived at his guerrilla store sex during the late 70s like many counterculture followers through the decades Yamamoto and Kawakubo were preoccupied with black it was one of the most striking and divisive features of their early Paris collections and perhaps the most attractive quality of their garments although they were hardly the first to introduce black to Parisian fashion Coco Chanel's little black dress and the eve-san laurent tuxedos spring to mind there was an avant-garde quality to their use of the tone a layered meaning that gave multiple context to a minimal design choice black is modest and arrogant at the same time says Yamamoto black is lazy and easy but mysterious it means that many things go together yet it takes different aspects in many fabrics you need black to have a silhouette black can swallow light or make things look sharp but above all black says this I don't bother you don't bother me objectively they had really done their homework I'm convinced that they knew full well what they were doing when they arrived in Paris what they were going to turn upside down it was no coincidence that they decided to arrive together they probably wouldn't tell you that but ray Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto were together they lived together for over ten years and they hid their creativity from each other they didn't share information on their collections it must have been totally schizophrenic I once a CEO she in your private life is real like this and he said no she's very sweet when you arrived both of you quite at the same moment they add Italian sea to put you together what did you think of that I thought it is stupid to shout that I'm different [Music] Yamamoto design aesthetic has evolved over the years moving beyond the oversized silhouettes of his early work and into the fitted Couture representative of the times unlike many aunty fashion designers we deliberately work against the grain of the populist yamamoto is more concerned with following his own instincts and forging his own path than he is with the expectations of others I hate to look back I'm always looking forward to what's next what can I do next the only person he expects to outdo is himself each collection is designed to move him forward as a designer as an artist Yamamoto's career reached its zenith in the 1998 wedding collection it confirmed the new romantic path he had taken as he shifted register from masculine to feminine the catalyst was his study of Orkut all he poured over the Neo Edwardian gowns of the American designer Charles James at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in the summer of 99 when he was in New York to pick up an American fashion award in the jigsaw of pattern pieces he uncovered another designers process around this hype Yamamoto also became the sole subject of a rim vendors documentary notebook on cities and clothes perhaps this searching for new inspiration is what led him to becoming one of the first designers to bridge Couture with sport collaborating with added s to produce the iconic y3 sneaker back in 2001 long before athleisure was introduced to mainstream culture y3 is the collaboration label between Adidas and Yamamoto bringing the Japanese designers sartorial aesthetics to the sports brand and resulting in a fusion of high fashion and advanced performance were unveiled in Paris in 2002 the y3 brand celebrated its tenth collection with the autumn/winter oh seven oh eight men's and women's presentations in New York City by 2016 y3 sports was launched a capsule collection which focused on functionality the popular range of sneakers proved to be a big hit amongst celebrities and fashion influences earning Yamamoto some serious street cred fifteen years ago it was a time moment the fashion professional people they started saying myself that I came too far from the street I was almost losing my enthusiasm for making clothing I had a big question and then I was running people time to care about the body from my side I made a phone call to adidas directly saying that I work with your company then very quickly the answer came that let's do it despite his success as a designer Yamamoto held little interest in the business side of Couture the lessons he had learned bunka college never truly stuck Yamamoto preferred to handle the creative element of his company and let others handle the business this decision came back to haunt him in 2009 here mimoto filed for bankruptcy with depths of six billion yen but was rescued by a Japanese private equity fund integral group which backed a rehabilitation effort which under Japan's civil rehabilitation law went the business could continue to operate at the time Yamamoto told industry newspaper Women's Wear Daily the problems arose in part because he left too much to others interesting then that he still thinks that the money side of the industry is not his business I felt very frankly I did you know so I don't have a chapter I wanted to finish I carry you but my daughter she shouted don't finish now we start again my daughter made it see your daughter capture going just one who convinced him yeah I told her Vimy don't do that I did you know I I could even tired so don't do that no father let me do that so finally I accepted chapter because I I I had to think about my company people's life so many so many stuff assistant many people and weaving company dying company people it was just about you yeah when I started think about them oh I have to study the game it was very hard moment but as far as I made up my mind to do it again I became I feel like I became double star strong the business eventually recovered and was in fact the subject of celebration in the London 2011 cultural schedule with Yamamoto's first solo UK exhibition celebrating his life and work as the key event at the acclaimed Victoria & Albert Museum when Selfridges asked Yamamoto to design a skateboard for their spring 2014 boardroom concept he answered with a deck that breathes new life into the iconography of a human skull using profile x-rays of his own skull ten years ago which were then traced meticulously by hand at this time he continued to explore his urban aesthetic joining forces with New Era aus headwear brand hailing from Germany whose iconic cap is the official gear of the National Football League under his sub label wise Yamamoto worked with them to reignite their icon the 5950 cap with his graphic logo and insignias and continued to release a series of headgear including their most simplistic baseball cap to date the 920 a blank cap with Yogi's signature the collaboration evolved into a range including a line of apparel and accessories the spring/summer 18 goods celebrated yamamoto's rare turn to colour featuring the skull and rose patterns from Yohji Yamamoto arms fall winter 14 collection followed by an expansive for winter offering back into his ki monochromatic palette in line with his historical film collaborations and ties to Japanese animation Yamamoto's work was referenced in the 2017 remake of the cult film ghost in the shell' from Japanese director Takeshi Kitano the Yakuza characters in film were very yamamoto like in monochrome loose tailored numbers yamamoto a fan of katana as well as a colleague having designed costumes for caetano's late nineties film brother answered back with the captial line joints released with designer Fred Perry ground why Yamamoto's more price friendly line brought to life the ghost in the shell' capsule collection which included perry's own polo and yamamoto subtle design elements emblazoned with stylized illustrations from the manga series we became like a friend like six seven years already so we do many things together of Sheri or private privately when Takeshi wants to speak very important thing the hidden speak he brings something to me so at the very very first fitting of two main characters I showed to Kitano one couple which is for autumn season he jumped from the chair he run to the close and he start touching the clothing and yeah in a way he got excited 2018 so Yohji Yamamoto also pair up with Ashima reproductions honoring the late Shotaro Ishinomori Zaycon ik cyborg double o9 manga character the knitted apparel and t-shirt featured the vintage manga characters and villain in a striking pop-culture reference as manganese it's 52nd anniversary in 2019 Yamamoto returned to Paris with his critically acclaimed spring/summer collection held in the historic grand palais though he is still the patriarch of black in recent years he has introduced a broader palette continuing to work into his repertoire bold color and loud prints for summer the darkened space was defined by the accompanying music written in part by Yamamoto himself it represented his defiance of destructive forces by replying with an anti racism anti crazy global warming and he genderless fashion presenting a concept that clearly defined his vision for men and women as equal and separate with signature oversized cuts and tailoring for the men and beautifully unstructured drapery for the women that formed around the female body across a line of dresses and outerwear and in later moments presented a more sensual silhouettes with hardware and slithers of skin his final act was an all-white color palette that moved into bright colors casting five black models to open and close the show whilst the clothes spoke for themselves his abstract anti vision may have been lost on critics but it is more complicated than being just lost in translation according to Vogue's ami Verna Yamamoto has remained relevant precisely because there are so many unknowable aspects to his work and people respect him immensely without overthinking why or how a collection materializes recent seasons have yielded themes that fluctuate between cheeky and profound as though he is working through how to express himself in his advancing years at a time when the gender neutral movement is afoot Yamamoto's presentation is at odds with the times but it is less a battle against the cause than it is a means of reconnecting identity through clothing with the brand as ever determined to forge their own paths before this his for late-teen showing in Paris was one of the most poignant to date venerating the late fashion Vanguard friend and contemporary Azzedine Alaia his passing disrupted Yamamoto's usual process coming to him almost in a vision that challenged the sculptural fashion made famous by azzedine against the master of cubism Pablo Picasso this level of championing another designer especially in a show is not a common occurrence in the world of fashion it was a moment that collided the unlikely masters whom like two sides of a coin were equally valued for their contribution the collection placed notes of sculptural details from the oversized collars and lapels amidst Yamamoto's own signature volume with deconstructed cubist moments that even went three-dimensional the patchworked leather corsets and classic tailored coats resembled some affinity with the king of cling not unnoticed by a liar's inner circle whom were in attendance for the touching tribute there was not a dry eye in the house the catharsis even took a toll on yamamoto himself emotionally and physically bringing him to question his own footing in a new era of designers and the legacy of his life's work the last of the long-standing designers to remain staunchly independent and maintain relevant collaborations across several decades in his life Yamamoto has managed to capture his craft memories and musings in a holistic autobiography unlike anything else My dear Baum encapsulate his style and his efforts to understand his critics as part of his personal evaluation it is not chronological rather a fusion of poetry anecdotes and trade notes his previous publications talking to myself my is Yohji Yamamoto are an open door into the genius of Yamamoto at 75 Yamamoto has always disregarded the idea tyrant and practices fierce dedication to the craft and his team certainly this renegade of fashion will fight off his final chapter for my total life I comfortable being in black this dark side of the life not in the light is attractive wait for me forever to glue the harmony is boring may become family interest in his passion excited generally I'm just interested in how to cut clothing dress making clothing making you

Channel: Fashion Industry Broadcast

Views: 249,757

Rating: 4.9583011 out of 5

Keywords: yohji yamamoto, Japanese designers, Rei Kawakubo, Y's, Adidas Yohji Collaboration, Renegades of Fashion

Id: 6asF53UqGd8

Length: 32min 5sec (1925 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 08 2020