Yohji Yamamoto Retrospective
This month London’s V&A museum unveils the first UK retrospective of the Japanese fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto.
Designed by his long-standing colleague Maseo Nihei, the exhibition documents Yamamoto’s incredible career, from his debut in Paris 30 years ago, to his collaborations with fashion photographer Nick Knight, art director Marc Ascoli, choreographer Pina Bausch, graphic designer Peter Saville and filmmakers Takeshi Kitano and Wim Wenders.
The exhibition also explores his work with traditional Japanese techniques and opens a window into the life of a designer famous for challenging the canon of contemporary fashion and provoking change.
From the beginning of his career, Yamamoto’s ill-fitting cuts, often unflattering silhouettes and androgynous styles clashed with the figure-hugging styles shown on the catwalks. They transcended gender and forced the fashion world to rethink its ideas about beauty.
Over 80 garments are dotted around the V&A, often hidden away in corners to create a dialogue with the museum space. 60 are on show in the main exhibition and include menswear items from his Autumn/Winter 1998 collection that were famously modelled by women.
Visitors can also see work on display in partner exhibitions at the Wapping Project sites, at both Bankside (12 March to 14 May 2011) and Wapping (12 March to 10 July 2011) where they have flooded the boiler house of the historical 1880 hydraulic power station. An iconic Yamamoto wedding dress reflects in the pool creating a beautiful, mysterious atmosphere, which people can explore by boat.
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