The Inter-Views of Fashion: Yohji Yamamoto

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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.