Regal, romantic — and relevant — Yohji Yamamoto’s collection was also a statement about global warming — not that anyone watching the show would necessarily have noticed. The clothes, all of which were black, were just too distracting.
Long, draped dresses with high waists and low necklines had a neoclassical feel, while others resembled togas or Greek goddess robes. Models, their blue-gray hair spiky and wild, looked like ancient priestesses as they trod the squeaky parquet floors of the Hotel de Ville in sneakers, sandals or flat black shoes covered in scraps of ribbon.
When Yamamoto wasn’t draping or pinning bits of soft, washed cotton onto shoulders and waistlines, he was snipping — turning trenches into short-sleeved dresses with handkerchief hems, or lopping the sleeves off T-shirts, and adding little capes.
For nearly 30 minutes, those long, floaty dresses kept coming — some with a curl of ribbon down the front, or a flounce on the bodice or hip, while others had black corsets or little short-sleeved jackets. There were even a few minidresses — with cutout details — unusual for Yamamoto, who loves a long silhouette.
There was very little beyond black: Some of the dresses had silvery paint daubed down the front, or the odd panel of crinkly plaid or gray fabric. The final hoop skirts — which were nearly as wide as the runway itself — had a single white flower placed on the back.
While the mood may have been ethereal, the designer’s inspiration was very much grounded in the here and now. “I was thinking of global warming, so there were no collars, or sleeves on anything. I cut them off because it’s too hot.”
And while Yamamoto’s message may have been tinged green, he was adamant about keeping color out of the collection. “Black is fundamental to me. I don’t need help from color. All I need to do is cut,” he said.
