Yohji Yamamoto. Fall 2020 Ready-to-Wear - Paris Fashion Week.

(Images from the designer and the public domain. Credited to the photographer/company where applicable: Gorunway.com)

Yohji Yamamoto continues on with a wrangling of past resonance from his backlog that is over three decades of designs.  Within his cryptic and at times lost-in-translation explanations, which is the charm of Yamamoto's show notes.  He is truly one of the last of the late 20th Century designers still producing a collection for every Paris Fashion Week, whilst maintaining his three labels; Y's, which was he first brand he created in 1977, Y-3, the now sixteen year old Adidas relationship and of course his own signature collection.  If there is a creative weariness in the master designer, it maybe shown respectfully with the ability to revisit his own past and draw from the styles that he developed from the early 1980s onward.  Yet, there us a difference of being tired or losing interest in the discipline of fashion design - as it will be revealed via the actual pieces on offer, which was seen recently on some of the runway Fall 2020 showings from the younger and not so young fashion designers.  There was clearly a fall in standards.  However Yamamoto has not dropped his criterion, his mastery is very much maintained.

One of the fallacies of Western and also Eastern philosophy, which holds its roots in both academic and esoteric practices/beliefs.  Is that there is a need to see a future.  This is incorrect, we live from past to present.  One day on a day.  That is it.  The ability to challenge oneself while maintaining the discipline of practice is only within that day, not essentially for any outcome, it is more or less just the ability to perform the action.  To complete it, in some cases without any reward. As an expectation, which in the end, may never transpire.

Yamamoto's declaration of recent fashion shows, is his desire to study past lessons, particularly from his own design template, he is also curious of reflecting the present time.  Be it global turmoil, the younger generation, with at times, confused sentiments, interconnected digital markets, climate change.  But how does this motivate a designer such as Yamamato?  He, as explained backstage prior to the Fall 2020 collection, wants to “fight...” the past, redfined it, possibility or reshape what he has created. This could be in relation to the years that have passed - a beginning and an end for all of us.  And the weight of prestige can end up being more of a curse or a hungry ghost.  That will be never satisfied.  Which ever the case for Yamamoto's conflict with his past resonance, he is drawing from the self, as a reasoning to continue designing clothes.

Yamamoto's Fall 2020, is the master designer returning to his more finer array of styles.  A beautiful reflection of early 1980s looks, not as avant-garde as the later collections of the 90's, rather Yamamoto's past to present influences are of his own configurations.  A structured and less asymmetrical collection of fine wools that have been tweaked and layered, the subtle and poignant work, with degrees of couture elegance shining through. With its more defined lineation of styles.

Yamamoto's romance with the empty Stygian.

空 Kū