On stereotypes:  I love stereotypes, sweeping generalizations and everything that is un-PC. Stereotypes are fun to goof around with and, in a way, you sort of diffuse them if you throw them around.

On gay food versus straight food:  People have the silly notion that there are four food groups. There is really only gay food and straight food. I’m advocating a balance of the two. An oversized beef burrito is basically a phallic symbol, it’s obviously so straight. The gayest food has got to be macaroons, in all pastels and shades. If you lived on them you would explode into a nuclear cloud of gayness. Sushi is also a gay food. You’re taking a big sloppy fish and making it into little bon bons. That seems really gay to me.

On bringing the word “naff” to America:  The word naff is a very useful term, you use it to describe something that is just really tragic and dreary and doesn’t have any style, a lack of panache. There is no American word for that.

On female inspiration:  Suzanne Bartsch was a woman I found to be really inspirational and funny.

On his message to the masses:  I want everyone to be less self-critical and feel less self-conscious, that’s my mission in life.

On his favorite designers:  Alexander Wang – he’s incredible, has such energy, he’s really groovy. Azzedine Alaia – it’s fun to go into his boutique and turn the dresses inside out, the construction and level of design is amazing. Paul Poiret – who did all the exotic stuff at the early turn of the 20th century. Also Christian Lacroix, Rei Kawakubo, Yohji Yamamoto.

On International Gays: The gays in London tend to be very mod, they wear their Fred Perry’s.  In Japan its crazy, the level of flamboyance, style, and experimentation is incredible. In Paris people are so dressed up its great. There are lots of cocktail hats, lots of transgendered things but not in a drag way, more like a tweed cape and Birkin bag, but in a man way.

On Straight Man Fashion:  If you’re in America and you put a lot of attention on how you look and dress, in US context you’re going to be perceived as gay. If you do that elsewhere it may not. I have a chapter on men’s style and what I’m advocating is that gay men and straight men should dress the same but they have to pick from three looks: the perverse prep (Thom Browne, Band of Outsiders, comes from workwear) or the heritage henry (Carhartt, Levis, heritage brands) or the douchebag look (Jersey Shore, Ed Hardy, Abercrombie) it works. It’s all about juxtapositions in the world of fashion, it’s a jigsaw puzzle. It doesn’t work individually, it works as a whole.

On Fads:  There’s absolutely nothing in the fashion scene I would like to see go. I love all of it. I don’t have the ability to say “oh yes she looks terrible” because it’s all subjective — as long as she’s happy and having a good time I don’t have that need to kick her to the curb.  Probably because I’ve been so involved in fashion history I see it as a landscape. It is not about you, it is about fitting into the social landscape.

On Having Your Own Look:
You’ve got to have your own look, it’s all about self expression. Even if that is objectively kind of demented. Marc Jacobs once said fashion isn’t about trends any more, but it is about having your own look. Self expression is the key to everything. Even if you have a mullet at least you look like yourself. Good. Go buy two mullets.

There’s an André Leon Talley-esque character, clad in a Louis Vuitton cloak and a fairy godmother bearing a striking resemblance to Isaac Mizrahi in Swarovski crystal wings. I would assume Anna Wintour would be cast in the role of some sort of wicked witch, but Florio Kasouf’s memories of her are actually rather fond. The author recalls having her first lunch with the editrix at age 10:

“She asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I said, ‘I’m going to take your job.’ Apparently she had said the same thing early on in her life, so she thought it was cute.”

Yeah, Wintour thought it was real cute. Next thing Kelly knew she was being sent off to live with seven queens who looked for diamonds all day and ended up fighting for her young life after Anna, disguised in Yohji Yamamoto, fed her a poisoned stick of gum.

Anyhoo, The Adventures of Sophie will be sold exclusively at Barneys — naturally — but it being the future and all, there will also be an app for it. And they all lived fiercely ever after. [WWD]

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE TRAILER

This documentary marks his 10th anniversary with Adidas – a brand he’s so suitable for because, as he says, “I’m just interested in how to cut clothing.” Trends mean nothing to him. Fashion is personal for him, it comes from the shapes he creates.

In a collection born of patchwork suits with antique-bordering-on-amish getups, a piece like the pocket watch plays to the elder gentleman. But this is Yohji Yamamoto; that chain could very well be attached to an iPhone, and if it isn’t I’m going home and creating that tonight. Anyway, with the collection’s old world vibes and overgrown proportions, juxtaposed by his future running Y-3 Adidas, the show has a brilliantly cooky life of its own. Even if that life has white hair and wrinkles.

Photos from Fashionisto

You know the old saying: “Out with the Yamamoto, in with the Wang.” Something like that. Well, it looks like Alexander Wang’s taking it to heart as speculation increases that his eponymous label will be taking over the old Yohji Yamamoto store in Soho marking Wang’s first standalone store. Gird your loins, ladies. If the sample sale lines were any indication, this is going to be huge.

LINK LOVE:The Alexander Wang Takeover Continues

Dierttamente dal futuro: ecco la provenienza quasi cera delle calzature create da Yohji Yamamoto per la collezione invernale di Y – 3.

Leggi tutto…

LINK LOVE:Y – 3 e l’inverno che verrà

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You wouldn’t have known that Yohji Yamamoto was closing his stores unless you happened to be one of the lucky shoppers experiencing his flash 90% discount at both NYC stores on Tuesday. Although it was common knowledge that Yamamoto filed for bankruptcy, his exit was abrupt and nearly silent. Both Yamamoto’s Soho and Meatpacking District stores closed their doors on Tuesday, January 12th and shoppers abroad felt the financial collapse as he closed his Paris flagship and Antewrp, Belgium locations, among others. Let’s hope the man can get back on his feet!

LINK LOVE: Racked

With influences such as Maison Martin Margiela, Rei Kawakubo, Yohji Yamamoto and Issey Miyake,  Andreia Chaves appreciates design that provokes the common perceptions that people hold.

LINK LOVE: Notcouture via Yatzer

These are sooo awesome! Vintage Yamamoto for Adidas sneakers that come in their own cage…Get them at Housing Works.

Designers such as Oscar de la Renta, Matthew Williamson, Alberta Ferretti, Yohji Yamamoto and Alexander McQueen grace the holiday windows of Bergdorf Goodman.

More here

Thanks NY Mag!

Find more photos like this on CULT

Thanks Style!

Find more photos like this on CULT

Thanks Style!

GALLERY: RUNWAY RUNDOWN: Y-3 Spring 2010

Thanks Style!

Y-3 is launching some bright and unique high tops for Spring 2010. I love the speckled ones the most. Trying to find truly fashionable sneakers these days isn’t the easiest, but Y-3 does a good job. Be sure to check out everything Y-3 has to offer at their website.

Keeping it true to the Yamamoto style, the baggy pants make their return for the Spring of 2010.

Gallery: Yohji Yamamoto: Spring 2010 Collection

via Selectism

Yohji Yamamoto has canceled his spring 2010 men’s show “due to the worldwide economic situation.”

Instead, the designer might be starting a trend by showing his new collection by appointment in his Paris showroom.

LINKAGE: NY Mag

LINKAGE: cyanatrendland.

Do I even need to write anything about the images posted here? It is really obvious how amazing just this little glimpse of the collection makes me want to buy it already. Yamamoto sticks to his normal aesthetic as always, and just tweaks the styles ever so slightly. The colors of the patterns is my favorite. That dark purple plaid looks great with his other black, grey and white pieces.

via The Fashionisto

Yohji Yamamoto’s latest collection for Coming Soon has really changed up the game for Spring. While the collection is still in typical large scale pieces that fit loose, they are toned down and cleaned up for this collection. This Coming Soon collection is crisp, clean, and a general Spring feeling.

Gallery: Coming Soon: Spring 2009 Collection

Courtesy of: The Fashionisto

GALLERY: Runway Rundown: Yohji Yamamoto Fall 2009

LINKAGE: Style 

GALLERY: RUNWAY RUNDOWN: Armand Basi One Fall 2009

LINKAGE: Style 

Just Relax was the theme behind Yohji Yamamoto’s Spring 2009 Collection, and I will say this line looks pretty damn comfy. Big baggy pants and slouchy tops were plentiful, but you still had looks liek the ones featured above, that I feel really completed the collection. I love the vest and the tank featured above, I think the are both amazing Spring/Summer pieces.

Gallery: Yohji Yamamoto Spring 2009 Collection

Courtesy of: The Fashionisto

Gucci Clutch, purple satin with leather interior, embellished with glass.

I love Housing Works just as much as the next New Yorker, so for today’s Shop Indie edition I thought I would round up some things currently up for bid at great prices…

Tory Burch, 100% silk, sleeveless, hot air balloon print

Italian Huntress Boots, grayish suede exterior with chocolate leather heel back detail

Vintage Gucci Briefcase, uptown label with downtown bohemian beat, lined with purple fabric

Malandrino Chain Metal Pumps, pewter tone chain mail metal exterior, chain mail covered heel

Yohji Yamamoto, navy blue with screened polka dots, button closure with open neck

And my fave:

Dolce & Gabbana Boots, heavy weight grainy leather boots with rounded toe and buckle detailing, gray contrast stitching, buckle and rivets are gold tone

If you love designer shoes, you will love this special promotion that Mona Moore is offering to our readers. All you have to do is mention FashionIndie when selection your final purchases (call to purchase) and you will receive 50% off. Now, that’s better than the Saks Sale. Designers include Y-3, Yohji Yamamoto, Marni, Dries Van Noten, Anne Demeulemeester, and others.

The biggest news of the century!!!

Anna Wintour is out, Carine Roitfeld of French Vogue is in!!!

It’s as if The Devil Wears Prada was some self-fulfilling prophecy, we just got the second greatest news of the year, aside from Barack Obama’s nomination.

Carine is a complete sweetheart (got to meet with her at the Gucci/Madonna party), a fashion icon, and a better dictator than Anna Wintour. Expect scales and all black Yohji Yamamoto to hit the offices of American Vogue pronto.

This is a bit of speculation, but it’s also some of the best news we’ve heard all year. Joysies.

“Yohji Yamamoto’s flagship is the latest store to hit Paris’ notorious Rue Cambon. Designed by Sophie Hicks, an architect and former stylist for Alaia, it carries both women’s and men’s collections. Special wood paneling lines the entrance, while seamless mannequins give the illusion of clothes hanging in the air. It’s a serene, luxurious environment with metal rails for the collections, and Japanese paper birds adding to the installation-like display. Part gallery, part Japanese inn, the flagship is spread over three levels and it reflects Yohji’s signature concept: The White Box.”

-StyleZeitgeist via Dazed Digital

Limi Feu is Limi Yamamoto’s (Yohji Yamamoto’s daughter) collection. Feu means ‘fire’, and this is her third collection, which is shown in Paris. The designer’s pieces are stark, strong, visual, and filled with street attitude. The Spring/Summer Limi Feu girl is superbly individualistic, highly ignorant of other people’s opinion, and generally cooler than the entire human population.

One of my fave elements; the over-sized pockets (especially above) that make it seem as though you are carrying a bag.  Also, LOVE the hair, braided to look like headphones, absolutely genius!

Thanks Fashionation

This season, we’ve seen some of the most surprising male models hit the runways. First, Vivienne Westwood sends out beef cake bodyguards, then DSquared showcased an almost all ethnic cast, now Yohji Yamamoto sent out several gray-haired models who were over 60, one of whom happened to be artist-turned-filmmaker Steve McQueen, who just won a prize at the Cannes Film Festival. “The situation is, I’m not a skinny white boy, I’m the complete opposite,” McQueen told the AP. “I heard the audience gasp a bit when I came in.”

Is this the designers way of saying that clothes can be worn by anyone, whether hot male model or old guy? I guess it works, but that really defeats the purpose of having hotties on the catwalk!

Source: NY Mag

Great article in The Independent regarding the reason that Yohji Yamamoto gives for staging the first fashion show in the Ancestral Temple of Beijing’s Forbidden City. “For me, the name sounded so beautiful,I liked the idea of the forbidden.”

Keep Reading here.

Yohji Yamamoto is known for his reluctance to talk to the media. His shy and private nature expresses itself through his designs alone, revealing the fringes of his secrets. Given the rare chance to interview the Japanese legend, Prestige Hong Kong Fashion Editor Vivienne Tang catches a glimpse of what lies beneath. Here are the highlights:

The Yohji Yamamoto Fund for Peace will sponsor a Chinese designer and model. What do you envision for them?
I divided the selection for the designers into three levels, and I hope they can reach one of the levels. The one who could change the history of fashion, the internationally known designer and the nationally known designer [in China].

You’ve changed the history of fashion. How did your upbringing influence your designs? What experience shaped you the most?
First of all, when I graduated from university, I didn’t want to work. I didn’t want to enter a company. I graduated from a sort of famous university [Keio]. I studied law. But I was a very lazy student. That university in Japan is very famous. You don’t have to make an effort to get into a famous company. So as a student I became very lazy. I just wanted to graduate. But I wanted to continue being a student . . .forever, because I didn’t want to be in conflict with the society. I was very lazy. So I asked my mother, who was a dressmaker for the neighborhood, “Can I help you?” But she got very mad. My mother is a war widow. I am her only son. She made a big and hard effort to raise me, and she sent me to the famous university. She paid for everything, with her hard work. So she was disappointed, and at the same time she got mad. It was so terrible.

What’s your fashion philosophy?
It is that civilized humans must wear monochrome. In other words, it is the minimum etiquette of fashion that you should not disturb other people’s vision. It is wrong to think that standing out is a good thing.

A few years ago you said you hated fashion and that you retired long ago. How do you feel about that statement today? What drives you to continue designing?
I noticed that I became an animal only to make clothing. If I retire . . . maybe I will get old very, very soon. It’s like an animal that loves food. Even though my brain and spirit want to retire, my body reacts automatically when I see clothes. So I guess my retirement won’t happen while my body responds in that way. For example, when I do a fitting for the next collection, the models wear my outfits backstage and then come out, and my body reacts, my soul reacts. So as long as my soul responds, I will continue. That drives me to create.

Are you a perfectionist?
No, I’m very optimistic, Epicurean.

Tell me your views on women, and the image you want women to represent. You don’t like the pretty, sexy look, which many people see as the norm.
When I started my job, I hated that women were dressed up like dolls. So I started to create a mannish style for women. In that sense, I feel I have succeeded, but recently the tendency of fashion has become “sexy” again.

You once said your intention was to design to help women suffer less, to attain freedom and independence. Do you still feel that way?
Yes, in a way. But recently, women are becoming free and independent more and more. So it’s getting difficult to express the theme, how I want to show my creation next. I have the image in my mind, but it’s difficult to express in words.

Who do you design for? Who is your muse?
She is nonexistent . . . in this world. She is my imaginary woman. I can only see her back, her hair is blowing in the wind, and she is smoking a cigar. It’s a very psychological expression. I’m always imagining and looking at women’s backs. It means I’m missing. I’m missing my mother. I’m missing my love. Missing, missing, missing . . . forever. “Don’t go!” This is my image. For example, when a beautiful girl looks at me in this distance, I get afraid. So when the girl is leaving, I feel more comfortable. “Don’t go, don’t go. I need you.” It’s a very compressed feeling.

Read the entire interview here.

Photos: Lui Jin

I think Yohji got his inspiration for this collection by watching too much Batman. Or was this designed specially for the Dark Night Movie? If you have any word on this, comment and let us know.