The exhibition will be designed by Yamamoto’s long-time collaborator, scenographer and lighting designer Masao Nihei. The main exhibition space will see over 60 garments from Yamamoto’s womenswear and menswear collections accompanied by a mixed-media timeline showing excerpts from his fashion shows, films and performances, graphic material and select photographs which will contextualise his career. Following Yamamoto’s previous solo exhibitions in Florence Correspondences (2005), Paris Juste des Vêtements (2005) and Antwerp Dream Shop (2006), this UK retrospective will exhibit items from his menswear collections for the first time.

Yamamoto’s fabrics are central to his design practise and are a trademark of his work. Supporting craftspeople in and around Kyoto, his textiles are created to specification often employing traditional Japanese dyeing and embroidery techniques such as Shibori and Yu-zen. The selection of works on show will give visitors the opportunity to study examples of Yamamoto’s application of traditional Japanese techniques.

The exhibition will also record the breadth of some of Yamamoto’s key collaborations achieved through his career. Partnerships with fashion photographer Nick Knight, graphic designer Peter Saville, art director Marc Ascoli and M/M (Paris), choreographer Pina Bausch and filmmakers Takeshi Kitano and Win Wenders amongst many others, will be represented by a mixed-media timeline in the main exhibition space, and will demonstrate an important, creative dialogue which flows through his work. As homage to the catalogues and iconic images they produced for Yohji Yamamoto in the late 1980s, Peter Saville will be Graphic Art Director for the book and exhibition, and Nick Knight will produce the V&A poster image.
As part of the retrospective, Yamamoto’s work stretches further across London with exhibitions at the Wapping Project sites, at both Bankside (11 March to 14 May 2011) and Wapping (11 March to 10 July 2011).

Yohji Yamamoto, Victoria and Albert Museum, 12 March – 10 July 2011

Yohji Making Waves, The Wapping Project,
12 March – 14 July 2011
Wapping Hydraulic Power Station, Wapping Wall, E1W 3SG
Open Monday – Friday noon to midnight; Saturday and Sunday from 10.00am.
Closed on Sunday night.