Y’s by Yohji Yamamoto
The apostrophe in the name stands for the strong paternal feeling that Yohji Yamamoto has for the Y’s line. This line is only second to his first line of clothing, the one which bears his whole name, in the sense that is yet “another” line. The product makes use of recurring themes, like asymmetries and cross cuts and the quality fabrics draw upon the erudite Japanese textile culture.
With the Y’s line, Yohji translates his daring poetic projects into the everyday more freely than in the first line. In fact, these are reworked in a less austere, more usable and practical way.
Re-dimensioning the abstract stylistic forms that have made him famous, Yamamoto makes space for colour, so frequently avoided in favour of strong monochromatic themes like black, white and red, which enhance and metabolize more complex tailoring work. These are also present in Y’s, but simplified and with volumes sensibly contained, creating attractive silhouettes for a younger audience, yet always mature enough to incorporate refined exoticism.
Yamamoto never presents the Orient in a quaint or traditional style, but rather as a mental place where Western clothing styles are fused and transfigured through edge-to-edge cuts, textile weaves and the imbalances of Japanese aesthetics.
Frayed houndstooth,
dry outwear in soft boiled wool faded unevenly,
and then, crisp fabrics,
shirts printed with worn newspaper
and spartan denim, ennobled by the unusual shapes of jeans, make up a part of the varied and original selection for the current season.
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