The invite for the Yohji Yamamoto show was a yarn of black wool and boy, did he spun a lot out of it! A side note: the room smelled lovely and, as it turns out, Mr Yamamoto has just relaunched six perfumes so voilà! There is no question that the designer does soft tailoring like no other – take a double-breasted jacket with a low neckline and slashed sleeves for example, or a black linen one with frayed edges worn with white trousers and Oxfords or their sharper cousins, the black and grey three-piece suits that walked out together towards the end. Perhaps he showed one too many or maybe it was just late but what remains certain is this: Yohji Yamamoto is one cool guy.
With the Beatles’ 'I want you so bad' in the soundtrack, the models all sporting identical black bobs, a variety of fedoras and some cotton shopper bags hanging low across their bodies, every look was layered, slashed-away and folded to reveal skin (on the shoulders, the back and arms) or a second layer hiding underneath (a pinstriped trouser under a black jumpsuit, for example). The origami work on a couple of black dresses was extraordinary, creating quilt-like pointed squares that built up to create oversized cap sleeves in one and a full skirt in the other. The pleated Grecian dresses were a master class in what you can do with a piece of fabric and Yamamoto’s skill: knotted and criss-crossed across the body, some showing lace underneath deep v-cuts to the back, others with purple fur trims and a knitted one was gathered to create a sculpted corset. All that from a simple yarn! Imagine (as a Beatle would say)!
