The field of fashion journalism is one littered
with terms such as ‘sportswear’ and ‘diffusion’ – terms which are designed to
pigeonhole collections before they are shown. Strictly speaking, Y-3 is a
collaboration between the iconic Yohji Yamamoto and sport titan Adidas, and the
clothes shown are designed with athletes in mind. This was a notion echoed in
the graphic monochrome invitations that we received prior to the show,
accompanied by a brief explanation that ‘Athletes are modern-day superheroes’. Expanding
on this tagline, Yamamoto stated that he had been influenced by the couturiers
of the ‘60s and had designed the collection taking into account the ‘active,
fighting lifestyle of a superhero’. In summary, the collection was a high-end
take on utilitarian clothing, designed to dispel the myth that practical
clothing is, by default, unfashionable.
