Yohji Yamamoto Spring 2017 - Runway Review

Contemplative. Reflective. Pensive. Yohji Yamamoto seemed to channel a touch of melancholy with this spring collection—an examination of his feelings of loneliness. An abstract X-ray image tacked onto torn black paper served as the invitation to the show, one that intrigued with its dark, deconstructive restrain.

While younger, flashier designers have burst onto the fashion scene to dominate the street style-savvy, Yamamoto used the occasion to remind us that he was long designing such reconfigured elegance before anyone else. In short, he’s all the more relevant today. A pair of red coats that wrapped their way around the body beautifully highlighted his knack for fabric manipulation—or body wrapping akin to skin.

Call it trendy if you will, but the black bandage tops were fabulous, as were a capsule of simple white cotton dresses worn not unlike sheets over one shoulder and artfully accented with black paintlike splotches and large pockets. Even a hint at logo was visible with the designer’s signature stitched on the back of a jacket. Asymmetry, a Yohji hallmark, was rendered beautiful in jackets and shirts that, amusingly, were missing sleeves but still totally wearable.