Celtic harsh resonances support the presentation of a simply great Yohji Yamamoto’s Autumn/Winter collection, in an alternation of folk melodies suggesting the thematic references chosen for the coming season. Resolute in going into all the possible connections between the sartorial work and the artistic dimension, the great Japanese master embraces a narrative bond with the artist Yasuto Sasada, where form and colour converge in the same figurative imagery.

In fact both, one through the study of the volumes and of the formal structures of the garments, the other with the chromatic ability of the drawing, offer an amazing representation of that syncretism, typical of the Japanese culture, between traditional and contemporary elements. Printings of archaic mythological figures, in metamorphosis with ultracontemporary pop and manga references, overlap themselves with the plentiful dimensions of the outerwear.

Shapes evocating ancient social roles, fully-developed and made up-to-date with absolutely more modern times, thanks to an efficient balance between the fabric selection, from the wool to the cotton canvas, and the cutting-edge movement of the forms in the ever-present Yohji’s black.

If the urban streets show off replicants suffocated inside all the same skimpy padded coat, Yohji Yamamoto challenges the lazy and atavistic trend to homologation offering the possibility to distinguish the self inside garments conceived as first works, not only never seen before, but most of all heralding of thought, ideas and respect towards who would wear them.

*All the pictures of the Backstage of Yohji Yamamoto A/W 2014-15 Fashion Show are by Elise Toïdé.

Yohji Yamamoto wide padded coat in heavy padded cotton, wide neck with hood, no buttons or zip closure, two vertical welt pockets.

Yohji Yamamoto classic twill trousers printed with artist Yasuto Sasada drawings, tight at the bottom, 2 front diagonal pockets and 2 welt pockets with small button on the back, zip and button closure, belt loops and inserted strap with buckle, lined.

Yohji Yamamoto wool gabardine coat with sewn padded scarf, crew-neck, high side zip, two horizontal pockets on the front, zip closure with double slider, wide line, lined.

Yohji Yamamoto classic twill trousers printed with artist Yasuto Sasada drawings, tight at the bottom, 2 front diagonal pockets and 2 welt pockets with small button on the back, zip and button closure, belt loops and inserted strap with buckle, lined.

Trippen black lace up shoes in vegetable-tanned calf leather treated with wax finish, wood wedge with para rubber sole.

Yohji Yamamoto jacket/shirt in printed twill with artist Yasuto Sasada drawings, high neck, double slider zip closure, raw cut outlines, upturned V side inserts in plain colour, under-sleeve with a long open band, 2 welt pockets.

Yohji Yamamoto man style trousers with low crutch in soft wool flannel, tight at the bottom, two diagonal pockets on the front, two flap pockets on the back, button and zip closure, belt loops.

Trippen black lace up shoes in vegetable-tanned calf leather treated with wax finish, wood wedge with para rubber sole.

Yohji Yamamoto wide coat in herringbone light twill in wool and polyamide, big padded neck, double slider zip closure, two welt side vertical pockets, but sleeve with opening and dropped panel, lined.

Yohji Yamamoto long dress in wool jersey and woollen cloth, slightly rolled up neck, two pockets with flaps on side panels, laid on top panels along the sleeves.

‘Classic Trippen’ ankle boot in bicolour cowhide leather, with strings and small hooks, removable cork insole, rubber sole.

Yohji Yamamoto cotton canvas long overcoat, single-breasted, hood, two symmetric vertical raw-cut stitchings on the front, two vertical pockets on the front, zip closure with double slider, metallic small unicorn and small bird of prey.

Yohji Yamamoto classic twill trousers printed with artist Yasuto Sasada drawings, tight at the bottom, 2 front diagonal pockets and 2 welt pockets with small button on the back, zip and button closure, belt loops and inserted strap with buckle, lined.

Trippen black lace up shoes in vegetable-tanned calf leather treated with wax finish, wood wedge with para rubber sole.

Yohji Yamamoto down pea coat in heavy cotton canvas, single-breasted, wide neck, 2 big patch pockets with 2 diagonal welt pockets laid upon them, longer on the back with upside down V central split, double slider zip closure.

Yohji Yamamoto long dress in wool jersey and woollen cloth, slightly rolled up neck, two pockets with flaps on side panels, laid on top panels along the sleeves.

Yohji Yamamoto short pea coat in cotton canvas and synthetic fur on the wide cushion neck and on the mittens, guru neck, double slider zip closure, 2 horizontal pockets with zip, padded collar badge, straight line, cotton lined.

Yohji Yamamoto long dress in wool jersey and woollen cloth, slightly rolled up neck, two pockets with flaps on side panels, laid on top panels along the sleeves.

Yohji Yamamoto jacket/pea coat in wool gabardine, doubled high neck, upside down V wool knitted side inserts, double slider zip closure. 2 side welt pockets, bat sleeve with opened under arms with dropped panel.

Yohji Yamamoto man shirt in cotton poplin with doubled trimmings folded near the neck.

Yohji Yamamoto man trousers with low crouch in soft wool and cotton tweed, tight at the bottom, two diagonal front pockets, two flap pockets on the back, closure with zip and buttons, belt loops.

Trippen high ankle boot in oiled suede cowhide leather with aged effect , double slider spiral zip around the ankle, staggered edging, removable cork insole, anti-slip rubber sole.

Yohji Yamamoto long dress in wool jersey and woollen cloth, slightly rolled up neck, two pockets with flaps on side panels, laid on top panels along the sleeves.

‘Classic Trippen’ ankle boot in bicolour cowhide leather, with strings and small hooks, removable cork insole, rubber sole.

His garments are a feast for the eyes and the soul, and attract, amaze and surprise even an audience that is indifferent to the fashion world but is simply vulnerable to beauty.

The very famous Japanese maison created pieces that found a place in the most important modern art galleries, with their futuristic, revolutionary technology. Any shape can be devised, any shade of colour made real, without ever oppressing the human inclination towards harmony.

Miyake does not ask anyone to make an effort to understand his work, because all of us would like to have created what he has created.

The art-garment is expression and results from a powerful freedom of thought, that is emancipated from the constraints of the limited possibilities offered by the materials. The technique is able to set the matter free from its objective limits, and the matter itself, the fabric, can become subject to manipulation, can be moulded and modeled solely depending on the artist’s creativity.

Issey Miyake is not a designer, he is a genius who brought art into everyday life, enabling people to wear it. Be it a spectacular piece, or a more reasonable and sober item of clothing, it is always the same creation of a genius, because the fabric, its primary element, was treated in such a way as to make it unique.

Every collection shows structures and colours in their infinite expressive possibilities, in order to give way to charm and wonder in our lives. This is an incredibly generous creative gesture.