EXCERPT: Y-3 FALL 2023

 

"...collaborative relationships can come and go very quickly with a plethora of designers all pining for survival in an immensely competitive fashion industry.  Yamamoto and Adidas hold the bench mark of testing their hybrid partnership.  Which shows after so many years of designing for the Y-3, Yamamoto has been able to compromise, whilst maintaining his personal signature range and the ready-to-wear Y's collections.

And it appears that the 79 year old designer has handed the reins of the Y-3 designs to his creative team, that have begun, what looks like a remodeling of the Y-3 imprint.   With the Fall 2023 arrays offering a slicker take on Yamamoto's rustic appeal, which gave Y-3 its distinction over the many years, aligned with his own vision of the collaboration.  Portraying Yamamoto's dystopian, broken city and utility wear looks, he maintained the layering and worn torn styles into its sportswear allure.  Does the latest collection reflect that past brilliance of Yamamoto's signature impression?   

I feel that the inundation of puffer jackets and oversized cuts, as opposed to Yamamoto's layering and asymmetrical stylizations, fails to lift the Y-3 to the unique standard it once was.  Of course the urban, dystopian concepts remain in place, with Y-3 offering a interested take on their branded sneakers, as a sled looking  sports shoe.  But overall, the latest offering from Y-3 feels restrained, less risque.  Which is a shame, if indeed Yamamoto's legacy is to be handed down to a new designer team for Y-3, it should be gentle in its deviation away from the greatness of the Japanese designer.

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Full review: https://chiasmusmagazine.blogspot.com/2023/02/y-3-fall-2023.html

(A.Glass 2023)