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FashionMusicArtCulture

Yohji Yamamoto Unifies His Various Labels

25 January 2025

Yohji Yamamoto invited us into a grim, dark, and intimate Paris basement for the 2025 Pour Homme Fall collection. Cement pillars and an eroded landscape blotched in black ink established the signature melancholic atmosphere we have come to expect from Yamamoto. However, this tense, almost macabre ambience was met with a surreal nonchalance.

The first looks evoked a sense of familiarity. Quilted textures, nylon, and insulated garments have recently dominated the global fashion zeitgeist. Paired with Yamamoto’s iconic monochromatic colourways, one might assume this is simply his interpretation of Gorp core and utilitarian fashion trends. However, Yamamoto assures us it goes far deeper than that. The age diversity among the models, combined with the striking prints and graphics reminiscent of Yamamoto’s recent New Era collaboration and Ground Y iconography, reveals that this is far from a vain attempt to adapt to trends. Instead, it reflects Yamamoto’s effort to unify the various disciplines and design philosophies he has explored across his labels.

For many years, “Yohji Inc.” has encompassed a conglomerate of separate lines and sub-labels, each operating with distinct identities from the main Yohji Yamamoto line, differing in design philosophy, aesthetics and creative direction. In this collection, however, we witness a unification of these labels. Classic tailoring meets contemporary textiles, while Yamamoto’s staple outerwear is adorned with angsty imagery reminiscent of S’yte and Ground Y motifs. Once established to appeal primarily to younger audiences with contemporary designs, these sub-labels now find harmony with their classical counterparts.

The final pieces incorporated striking black-and-white layering, composed primarily of inorganic-looking materials and traditional Japanese graphic design, which aligns with the overall mise en scène of the show. The uniform-like presence of dark headpieces, which obscured the models' identities, added a dystopian and enigmatic quality—a stark contrast to the appearances earlier in the show. This bleaker take on the concept of connectivity highlights Yamamoto’s versatility as both a designer and a visionary.

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