Referenced as one of the essential names to know the evolution of fashion, Yohji Yamamoto and adidas Y-3 hide many curiosities that explain his career.
Musician
Yohji Yamamoto is not only a designer, but also a musician who plays the guitar and harmonica and occasionally composes music for his fashion shows. He is released several studio albums.
Generations
He received his law degree from Keio University but never practiced. With his degree in hand, he returned home and chose to assist his mother in her clothing workshop, where she invited him to study design.
Yoshi’s daughter, Limi, is a designer who shares some style references with him. Limi does not use her father’s surname but Feu, the French word for fire.
Paris
His designer consecration took place in Paris, which he visited for first time as a reward for his work at the Bunka Fashion College. Together with Rei Kawakubo, he became the Asian answer to both design and the European system.
Y
Yohji Yamamoto’s original brand name was Y, which he was unable to register. He was then forced to sign as Yohji Yamamoto.
Documentary
In 1989, he allowed Wim Wenders to follow him around during his working hours to create Notebook on Cities and Clothes, a documentary in which he tells his story and creative processes.
Film
He did not only work with Wim Wenders, but also designed the costumes for his film Until the End of the World (Bis ans Ende der Welt) and Takeshi Kitano’s Dolls, Brother, and Zatoichi. He also appears in the acknowledgements of Prêt-à-Porter, Robert Altman’s satire on the world of fashion.
Lamborghini
An expert collaborator, in his history of alliances it is surprising to find Lamborghini, for whom he dressed an Aventador S and created an exclusive capsule.
Revolutionary at 59
His line with adidas, Y-3 came out in 2002 and was automatically a creative and business revolution. Yohji was 59 years old.
Influence
Some of the sneakers created expressly for Y-3 definitely influenced the design of mass-market products. This was the case with the adidas Y-3 Qasa, a model inspired by tubular technology from the 1990s.
In space
Y-3 is in space (or pretends to be) after designing Virgin Galactics’ pilot and passenger outfits.
