Feeling down? Can’t read the news these days without wincing? Then step right up to Yohji Yamamoto’s latest collection, which was light as air, loose-fitting and — quite possibly — as comfortable, and comforting, as a pair of pajamas.
“The world is becoming more dangerous,” said Yamamoto, explaining his approach to this season’s collection. Given the state of the world, he said he’s returned to studying Buddhism. “I started when I was young, but understand Buddhism is so difficult,” and it doesn’t get any easier with the passing years, he said.
Yamamoto wasn’t just designing in response to geopolitics, but to the climate crisis, too, and said these clothes were made for hot summers. (Indeed, the collection was ideal for his small, basement-like show venue, which felt like an overcrowded sauna.)
There were no linings in this collection, just long layers — loose T-shirts that fell below the knee; frock coats with uneven tails and bits that could be made shorter or longer with button fastenings, and roomy, three-quarter-length trousers that swooshed down the runway.
The petite Charlotte Rampling, one of Yamamoto’s old pals, walked in the show wearing a pair of oversize trousers held up by suspenders, and a black hat, making her look a little like Charlie Chaplin.
These clothes were not only light — fabrics were mostly silk and rayon — they were lighthearted, too.
Long, fluid black coats had big, torn out holes in them and colorful flower or planet designs placed here and there. Some only approximated coats, and looked more like judges’ robes worn half-on, half-off, while others were covered in phrases such as “You are the sunshine of my life,” or uplifting phrases from Buddhist texts.
The short-ish white trousers were covered in scribble prints or doodles around the knees while knits were long, sheer and droopy. Many of them had holes and ladders, but, boy, did they look comfortable. Sneakers were equally raggedy with strings sprouting from the top and sides.
It took a master craftsman to pull it off: The absence of linings meant that Yamamoto had to use intricate, internal stitching to support the shapes of the clothing, “but, of course, he likes to challenge himself, he likes to learn,” said one of his staffers.
The result is priceless, according to some.
Rampling, who was standing next to the designer backstage, said she’s guarded her Yamamoto wardrobe for years. “I have many, many pieces — and you keep them all when they’re from Yohji. They go on forever.” Now that’s good news.