Those who take a superficial view of Yohji Yamamoto’s canon are prone to praising his general aesthetic while dismissing his collections as repetitive and redundant. The opening looks, with their rows of unusable patch pockets, made for a clever and amusing rejoinder, not least because they weren’t repeating any recent design. Yamamoto is a feisty one, and he’s never held back from expressing himself in his clothes, but the latter half of this very satisfying collection made a sharp turn toward titillating. On his characteristically unstructured black robe-coat layers were traditional Japanese depictions of women in various states of pleasure. “A little bit sexy,” he summed up, postshow, describing the style as “modern ukiyo-e,” a reference to the most famous genre of Japanese art (not counting anime).
It wasn’t so long ago that the designer was championing the trend of genderless fashion, sounding a little like a follower despite spearheading the notion decades earlier. Now his beautiful, silky chemises over sweeping linen pants—pieces that women could easily wear, too—were loaded with erotica and explosive dark flower arrangements interspersed with skulls. But because unclarity is his signature, this lushly heteronormative situation was tough to gauge: women empowered, women objectified, men emasculated, men worshipping women? Yamamoto only went so far as to say, “I wanted to explain that fashion became so boring.” He continued: “Essentially, I feel that ordinary people and fashionable people are all tired of fashion because there’s nothing kind of strong, cute, sexy.” A bit extreme, Yohji-san, but at the same time, agreed.
And when Yamomoto harnesses his mojo, he really goes all out; for as much as the collection was sexually charged, it was also velvet collaged, double lapeled, color infused, leather enveloped, and zippered gratuitously. “When you create, you don’t need to be so serious; let’s play with it,” he said. That’s the spirit! On a day marked with old guard and vanguard, Yamamoto’s contribution still very much matters, yet the thought that it might not clearly weighs on him. “Every season is a big pressure, because you have to talk with the time,” he explained. So to anyone who questions his relevance, see the framed declaration repeated across various looks: Yohji so fresh.