The Life and Works of the Most Influential Japanese Fashion Designer
Yohji Yamamoto is arguably one of the most influential and unconventional designers of the twenty-first century. His designs and contributions to the fashion field are still used and praised today, and will continue to be used in the future of fashion. Yamamoto was born to a seamstress mother Japan in 1943, he initially got his degree in law from Keio University. After obtaining his first degree, he then decided to pursue his love for fashion. Earning his degree in fashion at the Bunka College of Fashion in Tokyo. Yamamoto also got the opportunity to study for a few years in Paris (Ellinwood 248). After his various years of education, Yamamoto finally opened his first ready-to-wear company in 1972.
Yamamoto is chiefly known for his unique combination of Western and Japanese design styles. And his omission of the traditional idea of the feminine figure (Ellinwood 248). The key contribution that Yamamoto provided to the fashion industry was his challenging of the status quo, he really paved the way for other designers to be comfortable stepping out of the norm. He was also a large contributor to the Punk Movement with his large use of black fabrics in interesting silhouettes. Yamamoto's designs and his color choices attracted an eclectic group of artists that were in favor of the punk movement and the anti-fashion movement, mostly comprised of architects, artists, and writers (Ellinwood 249).
Yohji Yamamoto, along with designers such as Issey Miyake and Rei Kawakubo, were all revolutionary designers that created the influential trend of defeminizing the figure, and deconstruction. They all centered their designs and garments around loose fits, haphazardly sewn hems, and asymmetrical shapes. This became a large trend in the fashion community and the influence can still be seen in mainstream clothing today. Another trend that Yamamoto resurfaced was the trend of women wearing clothing that fit like men, he brought it back to popularity after being inspired by a "Parisian period from the late 1920s, when women empowered themselves like men" (Ellinwood 250).
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Asymmetrical hems, the color black, and scale were all elements and techniques that Yamamoto used to make his designs stand out from the fashion norm. He utilized design elements such as asymmetrical hems and silhouettes, layers, misplaced pieces of fabric, lopsided collars, etc. These techniques were used because Yamamoto preferred the beauty in textured materials to the "applied decoration" (Ellinwood 251). Yamamoto also used the idea/technique of androgyny, he made designs that could be worn by either men or women, certain lines were gender specific, but for others, he created androgens garments. Scale was another element of design/technique that Yamamoto used, he debuted his experimentation with scale in his fall/winter 1998-1999 collection. In this show, he presented dresses with skirts that extended over the runway and other various experiments of scale.
All of the various elements that Yamamoto utilized, and his revolutionary experimentation were what distinguished him from the pack. These different aspects of his design processes and garments were what made Yohji Yamamoto such a unique, fashion rebel. And Yamamoto also got the opportunity to study for a few years in Paris.
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The Life and Works of the Most Influential Japanese Fashion Designer. (2023, Feb 21). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/the-life-and-works-of-the-most-influential-japanese-fashion-designer/
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