Yohji Yamamoto

I do have many references and I’d like to introduce them to you little by little in this section, starting with Yohji Yamamoto.

Yohji Yamamoto has always been the one to me. He’s a living icon, capable to create not only his unique brand but two. Y-3 was the first high fashion sport brand.

The concept he created along side with Adidas is today copied by many. Besides liking or not his designs (which I love), what I really admire is the way he created two brands with a unique language.

Although Yamamoto’s work changed and evolved over the next two decades, it retained several key elements- the ambiguities of gender, the importance of black, and the aesthetics of deconstruction.

“When I started making clothes for my line Y’s in 1977, all I wanted was for women to wear men’s clothes. I jumped on the idea of designing coats for women. It meant something to me- the idea of a coat guarding and hiding a woman’s body. I wanted to protect the woman’s body from something- maybe from men’s eyes or a cold wind.”

A brand help us to identify ourselves with an aesthetic which leads to a lifestyle, an identity. Creativity, functionality, simplicity, harmony defines what design and beauty is to me.

5 things about Yohji Yamamoto

Born: In 1943 at Tokyo.

Family: 2 children Limi Feu, Yuji Yamamoto

Education: Keio University, Bunka Fashion College

His debut: In 1977 launched his debut collection, Y’s, in Tokyo.

He likes…: to be called a “dressmaker” instead of a fashion designer.