One of the greatest things about Paris is that high fashion is omnipresent. From hidden bookshops brimming with archive style magazines and books through to high-end stores on every corner (don't worry, I can't afford to shop there either but the window displays are inspiration enough!), you are constantly exposed to style, fashion and fashion history. As you all know, Japanese designers have always fascinated me for their avant-garde conceptual designs as well as their rebellious garments imbued with social commentary, so I recently bought a book entitled "Japanese Fashion Designers: The Work and Influence of Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo", a book which has prompted this essay on the great Yamamoto himself. Kawakubo is more well-known and Miyake is distinct from the other two designers in that his work was advanced in a more technological sense as opposed to a social one (although his A-POC range was one exception), which is why it made sense to write about Yamamoto. I had seen his early work but heard little about the elusive designer, his background and the inspirations behind his collections, which is why this book was such a treasure to me. In this piece, I will explore the traditional Japanese concepts that have inspired Yamamoto's career, look at some of his greatest collections and also look at how he (alongside Kawakubo) managed to reverse Western ideals of beauty.
 |
| Scanned from 'Talking to Myself' |
