Yōji Yamamoto

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Yamamoto on the catwalk for his Y-3 fashion show at NYFW (2010)

Yōji Yamamoto ( Japanese 山 本 耀 司 , Yamamoto Yōji , according to his own transcription Yohji Yamamoto ; born October 3, 1943 in Yokohama , Japan ) is a Japanese fashion designer and founder of the clothing company named after him.

Life

Interview with Yamamoto (2015)

Yamamoto grew up with his mother, a seamstress and war widow, and for her sake studied law at Keiō University . He then completed the fashion course at the Bunka Fukusō Gakuin in Tokyo .

From the mid-1970s to the early 1990s, Yamamoto and the Japanese avant-garde designer Rei Kawakubo were a couple. Yamamoto was previously married and, in addition to two sons, has a daughter, Rimi ( 山 本 里 美 , Yamamoto Rimi , spelling: Limi ), who has been running her own fashion label Limi Feu ( called Y's Bis until 2002 ), which, however, belongs to her father's group. Yamamoto divorced in 1975.

Yamamoto is one of the most recognized Japanese fashion artists. He has received several international awards for his collections: u. a. in the USA with the International Award of the Council of Fashion Designers of America CFDA (1999), in France with the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et Lettres (1994), in Japan with the Mainichi Fashion Grand Prix (1986 and 1994) and in Hong Kong with the DFA Lifetime Achievement Award (2017). A quote from the fashion designer is: “ I'm not a fashion designer, I'm a tailor. “This explains the nature of his collections, in which he hardly ever uses colors or accessories. Furthermore, he criticizes the transience of the conventional fashion business: " I hate fashion. [..] Fashion panting after trends. I want timeless elegance. Fashion has no time. I do. "

In the mid-1980s, Yamamoto encouraged his Italian student Ennio Capasa to found his own fashion company, which he did with CoSTUME NATIONAL in 1986. In 1989, Wim Wenders portrayed the life and work of Yamamoto in his documentary Notes on Clothes and Cities . The French fashion biographer Francois Baudot wrote the biography of the designer in 1997 : Yohji Yamamoto (Memoirs) . In November 2010, Ludion Verlag published the biography Yohji Yamamoto - My Dear Bomb , written by Ai Mitsuda with Yamamoto .

Yamamoto is a black belt holder and has been president of the Karatenomichi World Federation Karate Association since 2000 .

Companies

Yamamoto design in wood, wool, cotton and metal (1991)

In 1968, Yamamoto received the endo scholarship from Bunka Fukusō Gakuin , which led him to study fashion in Paris . Returning to Japan, he first made clothes in his mother's shop and founded his own company Y's ( 株式会社 ワ イ ズ , Kabushiki kaisha Waizu ) in 1972 . As a result, he also called his women's collection Y's , which was officially repositioned as a second collection in the 'elegant sportswear' segment after the main collection was launched in the 1980s, although Yamamoto sees Y's itself as an independent label. In 1977 he showed the Y's collection for the first time in Tokyo and added a men 's collection to it in 1979. In 1981 he launched his main collection, Yohji Yamamoto , presented it on the Paris catwalks and came to New York with it in 1982 . Yamamoto sent - in stark contrast to the trends of the time - white-made-up models in asymmetrical black outfits on the catwalks, which earned his fashion, as well as that of Rei Kawakubo, the name Hiroshima Chic and the press spoke of clothing like after an " atomic bomb explosion " . In 1984 he made a successful debut with his main collection for men in Paris and founded the company Yohji Yamamoto . The soft materials and flowing cuts of his men's fashion set themselves apart from the rigid and bulky shapes of the other designers of the 1980s. Yamamoto fashion has become an intellectual status symbol among creative and fashion-conscious people.

In early October 2009, this new Yamamoto's company after weak sales and rückgängiger demand in times of financial crisis , the insolvency proceedings in Tokyo. Management errors and a debt of 45 million euros were named as reasons for the bankruptcy. Yamamoto himself was the owner and creative director of his house, but had appointed managers for the business . The restructuring , and thus the majority of the shares, of the company was taken over by the Japanese subsidiary Integral KK. The two Yamamoto boutiques in New York were closed at the end of 2009. Opened in October 2007 and 1000 m² shop in Antwerp was closed in February 2010, the flagship store in London will receive, Paris (2x) and Aoyama (Tokyo) remained. The Y's collection for men has been discontinued or integrated into the main line for men, Yohji Yamamoto Homme . All other collections were continued and new brands were added to the portfolio as a result. Yamamoto's fashion has always been in the top price segment.

For his men's collection Yohji Yamamoto Homme , Yamamoto returned to Tokyo on April 1, 2010 with the autumn / winter 2010-11 fashion show under the motto 'The Men' after almost 20 years in Paris and presented his mainly in black held collection in the Yoyogi Arena with prominent models in front of approx. 3000 spectators. He introduced the show with a personal apology: "Forgive me for forgetting Japan." On the sidelines of the fashion show, Yamamoto announced that he would like to open his own boutiques in China . The fashion show for the spring / summer 2011 season was shown again in Paris.

An online shop, for which an app was launched, was announced on the Yamamoto website for the brands Y's , GroundY and s'yte for summer 2018 .

Yamamoto style

Yamamoto combines traditional clothing, including masculine Japanese working-class clothing, with contemporary sportswear to generate a post-modern streetwear chic. In the 1990s, for example, he presented trench coats and shirts inspired by kimonos . His inspirations include photographs by August Sander from the 1920s and 1930s. His women's collections are considered simple and androgynous, and are even considered 'men's fashion for women'. Instead of high heels , his models usually wear flat shoes and simple make-up . His men's fashion often has elements of military uniforms. Yamamoto often experimented with new high-tech - materials , but is just as happy and in an unconventional way completely Natural raw materials. Colors or even brightly colored patterns rarely appear in his collections; black and white fabrics typically dominate. His mother's mourning clothes had already marked him as non-black when he was a child. His main focus is on "cuts, silhouettes, movement and shapes". Using the shape created by his fashion, he tries to generate a timeless, trend-independent - albeit sometimes very strict and sparse - elegance with deconstructed , asymmetrical cuts, oversized or disproportionate volumes, as well as draped, gathered, assembled or flowing fabrics .

Collections

Main line (left) and secondary line (right) logos by Yohji Yamamoto
Fashion show of the Y-3 collection ...
... in New York City (2010)
Logo of the Yamamoto brand s'Yte , launched in 2011

Main lines

  • Yohji Yamamoto Femme - main collection for women in the top price segment, presented at the Paris Fashion Weeks (launched in 1981)
  • Yohji Yamamoto Homme - main collection for men in the top price segment, presented at the Paris Fashion Weeks (launched in 1984)
  • Y's - second line for women in the upper price segment (launched in 1972 as Yamamoto's first collection) including the Y's Exclusive Business line
    • by Y's - extensions of the Y's women's line in collaboration with Yamamoto designers such as Rismat (knitwear), Michiko (clothes by Michiko Suzuki), Kayo Nakamura (sports shoes and bags) or Takeshi Kosaka (Y's Pink Label)
  • Yohji Yamamoto + noir - women's collection in the basic color black in the upper price segment, since 1995

Secondary lines

  • Regulation - casual women's fashion collection inspired by uniform cuts (launched in 2013)
  • B Yohji Yamamoto - (B for Black , Big , B-Side ) casual leisure wear for women in oversized proportions
  • Ragne Kikas for Yohji Yamamoto (originally plyy by Ragne Kikas ) - knitwear and jersey collection for women by Estonian designer Ragne Kikas (launched in 2015)
  • discord - accessories collection for women with foulards, leather bags, small leather goods and shoes
  • Gipsy (dt. Gypsies ; acronym from pig (dt. Pig ) and Y's ) - from skaters inspired streetwear -collection in the unisex look for men and women
  • Gothic Yohji Yamamoto - jewelry and accessories collection in Gothic style
  • s'Yte (pronounced as English : 'site') - In September 2011, a cheaper sportswear line launched online with outerwear and accessories for the Japanese market. The brand logo and some T-shirts were designed by the American graphic artist James Victore.
  • GroundY - a collection of t-shirts, sneakers, accessories and mugs in the low price segment sold in the shop of the same name in Shibuya since 2014.

Collaborations 

  • Y-3 - produced by Adidas since 2003 and presented at the Fashion Weeks in New York , youthful sportswear line in the medium price segment. Collaboration started in 2001, first collection presented in October 2002
  • Yohji Jeans - a denim collection launched in 2012 for a young target group in collaboration with the Japanese jeans manufacturer EDWIN
  • Y's for Living - licensed collection of home and housewares outside the Yamamoto Group

Subsidiary in the group 

  • Limi Feu (called Y's Bis until 2002 ) - women's fashion label by Yamamoto's daughter Limi, founded in 1999 and shown in Tokyo, presented in Paris from 2007

former collections and collaborations 

  • Y's Red Label - designed by Yamamoto's protégée Michiko Suzuki, launched in 2005 and presented in Tokyo in 2007 as an avant-garde women's collection as a sub-collection of Y's (discontinued in 2009)
  • Y's for men - second line for men in the upper price segment (launched in 1979, discontinued with the S / S collection in 2010 or integrated into the main collection)
    • Y's for men shirt - subline of Y's for men for the Japanese market (discontinued in 2009)
  • Y's for Work - workwear-inspired collection reserved for the Japanese market (2005-2009)
  • Yohji Yamamoto Costume D'Homme - former sub-line of Yamamoto men's fashion
  • Coming Soon - the no-name avant-garde sportswear collection produced under license by the Italian SINV Group from 2008 to 2012 for the European market (with an embroidered circle as a trademark ) in the medium price segment
  • Dr. Martens for Yohji Yamamoto - collaboration with the shoe manufacturer Doc Martens from 2007 on a women's shoe collection for the label Y's
  • Y's Mandarina - luggage collection in collaboration with the Italian company Mandarina Duck from 2006
  • Prototype * - sunglasses collection for women and men in collaboration with the British eyewear manufacturer Linda Farrow
  • Stormy Weather - one-time jewelry collaboration with Japanese pearl maker Mikimoto in 2007
  • Real Madrid player outfits for Champions League games of the 2014/15 season in dragon design, produced by Adidas

Perfume collection 

  • Yohji (1996, women)
  • Yohji Essential (1998, women)
  • Yohji Homme (1999, men)
  • Yohji Yamamoto pour femme (2004, women)
  • Yohji Yamamoto pour homme (2004, men)
  • Yohji Senses (2013, women)
  • Yohji Yamamoto Her Love Story (2013, women)
  • Yohji Yamamoto His Love Story (2013, men)

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ FTD: Portrait: Rei Kawakubo ( Memento from May 15, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (March 21, 2007)
  2. ↑ Mens Health: Japanese fashion phenomenon: Yohji Yamamoto (last accessed: February 16, 2009)
  3. ↑ Die Zeit: Yamamoto: "I hate fashion" (May 2004)
  4. ^ The art of the ordinary , zeit.de, October 10, 1997
  5. ↑ Karatenomichi World Federation: "Ultimate" at the KWF ( Memento from August 3, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) (May 30, 2006)
  6. ↑ FAZ: Y for Yamamoto (October 14, 2005)
  7. ↑ Textile Industry: Yohji Yamamoto Is Insolvent (October 12, 2009)
  8. ↑ Textile Industry: Yohji Yamamoto: Restructuring under a new CEO (January 18, 2010)
  9. ↑ DPA via N24.de: Fashion designer Yamamoto is rediscovering Japan ( Memento from March 8, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) (April 2, 2010)
  10. ↑ 'My anger': Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto opens up about losing his father and his rage at fashion's frivolities , The Independent, November 21, 2010
  11. ↑ Die Zeit: Totally warped (July 12, 2006)
  12. ↑ The standard: "I am a tailor" (October 3, 2008)
  13. ↑ wearhq.com: Yohji Yamamoto and adidas Celebrate Ten Years of Collaboration ( September 4, 2014 memento in the Internet Archive ), January 27, 2011
  14. ^ Textile industry: Yamamoto with the third line ( Memento from September 5, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (April 10, 2008)
personal data
SURNAME Yamamoto, Yōji
ALTERNATIVE NAMES 山 本 耀 司 (Japanese)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Japanese fashion designer
DATE OF BIRTH October 3, 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH Yokohama , Japan