100 Most Influential People in Fashion

Fashion Influential #15: Yohji Yamamoto

Models on the runway of Yohji Yamamoto from the Spring 2008 collection. Photos via Style.com.

YOHJI YAMAMOTO
Born:
October 3, 1943 in Tokyo, Japan
Brands:
Yohji Yamamoto, Y's, Yohji Yamamoto pour homme, Y's for men, Yohji Yamamoto + Noir
Fans:
Elton John, Steve McQueen, Donna Karan
Inspired by:
Utilitarian workers' clothing
Beginnings.

Yohji Yamamoto decided to study fashion design at Bunkafukuso Gakuin after he obtained his law degree in Tokyo. He created his first line called Y's, a women's collection, in the early 1970s and held his first fashion show in Tokyo in 1977. Four years later, he presented his first Yohji Yamamoto collection in Paris.

Career Highs.
In the mid-1980s, Yamamoto became known as a genius who changed the course of fashion. Besides the commercial success of his own lines, he has contributed to other brands as well, such as renowned houses like Mikimoto and Hermes. Yamamoto worked with Adidas in 2002 to create a women's line, and together they formed the Y-3 label a year later. This union became one of the first highly successful partnerships between a designer and sportswear company. In 2006, he designed luggage and accessories for the Italian brand Mandarina Duck, launching the label Y's Mandarina. He is the only Japanese designer to have received France’s Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres.

For me, a woman in Yohji is like a nymphomaniac nun. His clothes are at once sensual and very ritualistic.
- Chris Lowe, of the Pet Shop Boys

A portrait of Yohji Yamamoto.
Career Lows.
His debut shocked the fashion world, which wasn't prepared for women's garments that looked like menswear and functional and sober, experimental lines. His reception in Paris was negative, as French publications believed that his styles were not luxurious enough for high fashion (too poor). They changed their tune eventually, as the deconstructionist look of his collections is sophisticated enough to compete in couture.

Legacy.
Yamamoto's collections are far removed from those of other designers. He does not follow trends, and his clothes lack the ruffles and embellishments that you see from other lines. The deconstructionist theme is his largest contribution to the world of fashion: breaking down "fashion" clothing into experimental pieces made of simple materials, where the cut is the main event of the garment. Yamamoto is only one of Japan's big three (along with Issey Miyake and Comme des Garçons’ Rei Kawakubo) to achieve this feat, but he separates himself from the others by maintaining a sense of humor, history and wit. His look has been often imitated, even by designers themselves - Donna Karan wears his clothes.

Models from Yamamoto's Fall/Winter 2007 runway.
Get the Look.
In terms of color, keep it simple. Yamamoto almost always designs with black, although he will throw in another complementary, bold color like fuschia or silver to make a statement. Lines can be daring and untraditional, while styles may pay tribute to another designer (like Chanel) while keeping in tune with Yamamoto's oversized, androgynous look.

- Olivia