Yohji Yamamoto.

Fri. 09/27/2013.










Yohji Yamamoto.

I was thinking as i viewed this show if this even was something that qualified as Fashion? Is it Art? The specific thing about Yamamoto's work is that it exists so far outside of the parameters of convention that it's almost impossible at times to quantify his work. He is a master of the unexpected gesture that stirs feelings and ideas internally that are more akin to some Life changing experience. Yes, Yamamoto's work goes beyond the earthbound into something more Esoteric and Inexplicable.

What was the inspiration for this collection? Does it even matter? There were moments of Deconstruction, Neon Day Glow, Artful Dishevelment, A preoccupation with the Black Blazer, all these ideas swirled about in Hallucinatory flashes of This, That and the Other! The Technical Feats of mastery accomplished here were not of the everyday or mundane. Yes, Immense Skill is required to cut a Jacket that fits like a dream and elucidates all the symmetry and beauty of the female form, but Yohji's task is not that simple, but is also at the heart of his explorations. In incorporating those ideas of Form, Function and Purpose, Yamamoto seeks to find that rarefied "Other" that stands out as something far more Sublime Than anything Technique could ever possibly dare to achieve alone!

Opening with a Fantastic Treatise on how to deconstruct the Black Blazer, Yamamoto Stunned with his Feats of Construction/Deconstruction that made one stare Slack Jaw Agog at what was before one's eyes! And before one could absorb the gravity of these wonderments, Poof! They were gone and in their place Retina Scorching pieces in Day-Glo Neon layers of an almost Queasy making Degree! But in Yamamoto's skilled hands, they simply caused a cheerful smile to creep across one's countenance.

The Day-Glo would disappear as suddenly as it appeared in favor of more Black, but would return later with a Fervent ferocity. In between, Muted shades of Grape and Wisteria, An earth toned print, an exceptional Shirt Dress in Neon Orange, More utterly inspired Black suiting ideas, and a some dresses of a disheveled ilk that fit into this caravan of misfit ideas that all seemed to hang together with perfect Symmetry!

By the time the show ended with White shirts and Black skirts the whole Collection Coalesced into a Magnificent whole of absolutely Mammoth proportion. It shouldn't have made any sense, and in the end, it may not have, but it felt like it was all meant to be, as if Karma had deigned it so. No, it didn't fit into the traditional Mould of what Fashion IS, but it WAS, FASHION! Yamamoto has never been the conventional designer, and Thank God, For it is his unwillingness to traverse the path of least resistance and do the work that touches his inner core that makes what he does such a Passionate Joy to Embrace! That's not found very often in this Milleu and when it is, It must be Treasured and Curated Like a Fine Jewel. Yamamoto in that sense is a Hope Diamond Caliber Specimen!










That's All.










Bye4Now!