YY. Good design is pleasant. To design with beliefs is to conjure my emotions. This is why I love YY: He designs for your life as a whole - the passage of time, moments you need protection, your freedom for movement throughout space and time. I imagine to live in a YY garment is a journey. Finding a new place to rest your hands, a surprising fidget you do with your coat that becomes habit. All of these routine actions during wear leaving a unique imprint on the garment which, over time, allows you to create an entire new garment: one that is you.
Master Tailor & Designer
Born October 3, 1943
1972: Label established the year Cristobal Balenciaga died.
“With my eyes turned to the past, I walk backwards into the future”
Born in a desiccated Tokyo, Japan after bombing of WWII.
“The dark side of life is attractive to me, forever, since the beginning.”
H U M A N
P R E S C E N C E
B L A C K
R E D
Movement in space, how a body inhabits a garment, grows into it.
Made to last the length of time- Does not approve of the disposable era we live in.
Wabi-Sabi: Acceptance of imperfections
C O N T R A S T
A S Y M M E T R Y
A N D R O D G E N Y
1. I believe that there are three conditions to a woman’s beauty. First, you must realize that not all women are beautiful all of the time. Sometimes beauty comes on a subconscious level. When she is in love, or has met someone new and exciting, she shines. Second, you must understand that life is unfair. Beauty is something that, for some, must be worked at. The third condition is luck. Some women can just be lucky.
2. My role in all of this is very simple. I make clothing like armor. My clothing protects you from unwelcome eyes.
3. Color, for me, has too many stories wrapped around it. I like black, white, gray, and navy. Like a uniform.
4. Life is better for beautiful people. You can become lucky if you are beautiful, you can become rich. But there is no truth in this definition of beauty.
5. If you feel strongly about someone, go up to them. Pursue what you want in life. Why be shy about something like that?
6. You can tell what a woman is going to be like in bed just by looking at her. There is a feeling about someone that comes from experience. When you’ve seen it once, you will recognize it again.
7. Fashion cannot make you sexy. Experience makes you sexy. Imagination makes people sexy. You have to train yourself, you have to study, and you have to live your life.
8. I love the back. A beautiful back makes a beautiful front. When you slouch, think about what happens to your front. You have to keep your back in the right position. This is where your spirit lies.
9. Men’s clothing is about tiny details, and I hate that. I am very small and I look stupid in a perfectly tailored suit. I want to be able to wear things that don’t fit perfectly, with the sleeves far too long. I wish clothing came with no sizes at all. It would be much better that way.
10. The biggest mistake you can make in fashion is imitation. If we keep on like this, fashion will die. There was a time when I used to fall in love on the street every day. I would see someone with such a way about them or such a flawless item that I would have to say, “Stop! Please! That’s perfect.” That never happens anymore. Everything is too similar. Soon it will be only a T-shirt and jeans.
11. I don’t think we should try to make space our own. I believe that as modern people we should live in mobility. We should always be moving.
Gypsy, 1930, August Sander
Photographs by August Sander, German Photographer. Born in 1876.
My personal favorite designer of all time, Cristóbal Balenciaga (1895-1972)
Yohji Yamamoto creates Deconstructed Clothing based on knowledge of pattern making, draping, & tailoring techniques.
“I design space. Space has always been very important in Japanese traditional art, in every genre, like a painting, sculpture or theatrical expression. The space of expression is even more important than the visual or written."
[Reading between the lines]
"I wanted to protect" a human’s body, protect Sexuality, protect the clothing itself from fashion “...at the same time protect the woman’s body from something, maybe from men’s eyes or a cold wind. I wanted people to keep on wearing my clothing for at least 10 years or more.”
Charming when clothes age- Passing of time makes clothing perfect
Literature- Story of a woman:
ROMANTIC//SAD//CRAZY//MAD
Fighting (Competing) with Chanel, Vionnet, & Schiaparelli
He is not female, can not understand the place they design from.. A women’s body, spirit, vibration
Let’s be Vagabonds
Notable resources ...
Yohji Yamamoto Photobooks + More fashion: https://vimeo.com/user12117284
A great writeup: https://historyofourworld.wordpress.com/2009/10/