There’s always a comforting reassurance to Yohji Yamamoto’s shows, a familiarity that speaks both of the designers clarity of vision and insistence on producing collections year on year that offer a piece of himself- they are unashamedly Yohji. This is not to be confused with predictability- his shows invariably leave one wanting more, delivering, as they do, a subtly different aftertaste each time. Take his Autumn/ Winter 2018 Menswear collection for example, shown yesterday at Yohji HQ in Paris, a typically tailored affair with all the hallmarks of the man’s eye for shape and cut, plus a wonderful reminder of his sense of fun.
The show began with predominantly dark, moody dressing (so far, so Yohji) and, with wide-legged trousers held up with chains not braces, then, a series of immaculately sculpted blazers, modified with bashed-up-leather-sleeves, served as an aperitif for a series of belted looks that came with a hint of the ecclesiastical. Our personal highlight of the evening however, arrived in the second half of the show where Yohji playfully fused together, very literally, traditional and contemporary, East and West, with printed images lifted on to pinstripe jackets and coats. For Autumn/ Winter 2018 there was colour too- red, blue and white were welcome additions to the traditional Yohji black.
