Yohji Files For Bankruptcy Protection, Finds Investor

[kiddokiddo]

I'm having positive thoughts for him cause the title really worried me at first. And I also do hope the new investors won't intefere his creative process because fashion desperately needs Mr. Yamamoto

 

[runner]

the aoyama store has been quiet, even at its best.
but it's only recently that it took a turn for the worse.

his clothes are wearable and compelling, but the prices were getting much less competitive.




what he said at a press conference last evening

「歴代の社長には自分のデザインに口を出させない半面、経営を任せすぎた。悪い情報は耳に入らず、裸の王様になっていた」

and he said he will keep on making clothes until he himself collapses.


asahi

 

[droogist]

^ Thanks runner. The last sentence is comforting. Can you please translate the Japanese? (I ran it through Google translate, and it spit out some hilarious gibberish.)

 

[wheneveriwakeup]

Thank you for posting that, Runner... I just adore his heart and passion for what he does..

These partnerships always leave me feeling quite skeptical. I find they almost always alienate the creative aspect of the business in favor of a purely monetary driven business. If this seasons collection is any indication for what is to come, we are in for a lot of lackluster seasons, imo. Also, there is no need for Yohji to change his designs to 'fit with the times'. Yohji is a niche market. The aesthetic of his designs is one of the driving forces behind his business. The only thing that needs to change are the astronomical prices of his pieces. He might also want to get into fragrances and/or partnerships similar to those of CDG but I don't feel that fits with the essence of Yohji. It seems too compressed for his style, somehow.

Anyhow, hoping this works out for the best. It would be a shame to lose the vitality and life behind Yohji's work for the sake of money. He is and should always be one of the highlights of PFW.

 

[runner]

so here it is droogist

I have entrusted too much to the past executive officers ( < word for word, but I think what he said is more like...I have made the past executive officers look after YY inc too much ) while I haven't let them have a word to say about my designs.
I would not listen to bad news, like the emperor with no clothes ( who even ignores the truth the child is telling ).

 

[runner]

wiw, this thing is likely to extend his designer life some years longer than scheduled, for good or evil.

 

[laika]

thank you so much, runner--
there is something heartening about
hearing those words directly from his mouth, amidst all this depressing news.

 

[dancorpse]

The least thing I want to see is money destroy beautiful things, anyway he said he will keep on, and I hope so.

 

[mikeijames]

Also, there is no need for Yohji to change his designs to 'fit with the times'. Yohji is a niche market. The aesthetic of his designs is one of the driving forces behind his business. The only thing that needs to change are the astronomical prices of his pieces. He might also want to get into fragrances and/or partnerships similar to those of CDG but I don't feel that fits with the essence of Yohji. It seems too compressed for his style, somehow.

Anyhow, hoping this works out for the best. It would be a shame to lose the vitality and life behind Yohji's work for the sake of money. He is and should always be one of the highlights of PFW.

he just filed bankruptcy. clearly, there is a need for him to adjust to the times. yes, yohji is a niche brand, but many niche brands out there haven't had to declare bankruptcy. it just goes back to that principle of all of those who praise his designs from some elitist new critical point of view actually have no interest in keeping it alive when it comes to the cash register.

also, yamamoto isn't a stranger to fragrance (yohji homme anyone?) nor partnership (hello, y-3), i just wonder if its enough....

 

[vetements]

assuming yohji yamamoto the main line is not selling well, there is still the seemingly selling y3, i dont think y's is enjoying the clout compared to its hey days 10 years ago though. and then there is coming soon also.

i think yohji yamamoto is lacking in the marketing expertise of comme des garcons. but japanese companies, ironic as it might sound, typically lend a helping hand to each other, despite being rivals. so i think rei kawakubo may well be or already given advise to yohiji before.

i read in yahoo japan that expansion, too fast, too much was also one reason for the demise.

 

[rui]

Yohji has not adapted his company to the times. His designs though transcend time and are creations that may other designers look at as inspiration but the company has not modernized itself to compete with the market. While everyone else is offering lower priced items YY's prices were raised! $900 for a simple belt or tee is not going to help the company in the long run. I hope this new partnership will bring fresh new eyes to the YY business model and bring this designer to the forefront of today's market. He needs to bring his amazing desgins to the masses (I'm not talking about Walmart here) and not be such an "eliteist" -a term, which I thought suited YY, that was used by a friend and Yohji client.

 

[blackpalms]

i've always loved yohji because he's stayed true to his own style and philosophy. i've also treasured all the pieces i've bought and would never let them go. however maybe he's become too much of a recluse in the past few years and possibly y3 and coming soon weren't the right moves after all.

comme is conceptual as well and their clothes aren't everyone's cup of tea either, but there is more variety in their stores. the comme mainlines, junya, tao, the diffusion collections, wallets, perfumes etc. all sell to a variety of clients with different budgets, tastes and ages. comme shirt and commecomme are also way cheaper than y's and the general image of cdg is much younger than yohji's, which brings in more customers i guess.

my mother is 60 and used to be a big yohji customer, but has complained for years that the collections look too dated and granny-like. nowadays she and her friends turn to ann, haider and also limi. maybe the yamamoto junior should get more involved with the whole company. let yohji design the mainline of course, but suggest fresh ideas on image, advertising, campaigns etc.

i really hope that the new investors see the brand's unique potential and don't sell it to some idiot like renzo rosso of diesel. i just don't want yohji to end up like margiela

 

[haoshcn]

Yohji has not adapted his company to the times. His designs though transcend time and are creations that may other designers look at as inspiration but the company has not modernized itself to compete with the market. While everyone else is offering lower priced items YY's prices were raised! $900 for a simple belt or tee is not going to help the company in the long run. I hope this new partnership will bring fresh new eyes to the YY business model and bring this designer to the forefront of today's market. He needs to bring his amazing desgins to the masses (I'm not talking about Walmart here) and not be such an "eliteist" -a term, which I thought suited YY, that was used by a friend and Yohji client.

Exactly right. As much as I love Yohji, his clothes are simply inaccessible. I might be wrong, but I just find it hard to believe most people who would love to wear his clothes can afford $3000 coat without blinking his/her eyes. I do wish they can develop a secondary line from which people with less than 6 digit annual income could buy several pieces from every season without feeling guilty and cash-strapped.

 

[rui]

I agree! lets hope that rosso will not be in the picture !

 

[haoshcn]

let yohji design the mainline of course, but suggest fresh ideas on image, advertising, campaigns etc.

That's a good point. I really don't want to see Yohji changing his design for the mainline dramatically. But some regular publicity, ad campaigns really don't hurt anything. I don't even remember I ever saw any of his ad campaign (except the Y3 stuff which I really don't think have much to do with Yohji these days) on any mainstream American fashion magazines, maybe a couple of times for the perfume, and that's pretty much all of it.

 

[xFashionfollower]

Wow, first LaCroix, Escada and now this..

 

[Inaya]

thank you so much, runner--
there is something heartening about
hearing those words directly from his mouth, amidst all this depressing news.

yes I suppose that it the one comforting thing in all of this.

I knew his house was going under, but I was unsure of how he, himself, was feeling regarding it. it is definitely relieving to hear.

+ I agree totally with MulletProof, I hope things will just carry on smoothly as far as things not changing aesthetically... but that the business end of things will be run much more successfully.

 

[Inaya]

Exactly right. As much as I love Yohji, his clothes are simply inaccessible. I might be wrong, but I just find it hard to believe most people who would love to wear his clothes can afford $3000 coat without blinking his/her eyes. I do wish they can develop a secondary line from which people with less than 6 digit annual income could buy several pieces from every season without feeling guilty and cash-strapped.

I agree and I'm sure, he himself would agree that the prices were ridiculous but it seems he was sort of disconnected from the financial end of things and focused only on designing. I think that's what he meant by entrusting too many people... and perhaps the wrong people.

yohji is a humble man and his designs exude that, in all their magnificence, but I think it takes a certain type of soul to be attracted to his work and to feel it's emotions. to charge thousands for even the most minimal of his pieces has always seemed unfair not only to his fans but to him... because in the end, obviously, it only hurt his business. people are spending thousands per piece on the more "glam" labels, but that's not the case for every demographic. it's impossible for most of us and even the SA's at Pollyanna have observed that over the last few years, even his most die hard clientele, were really struggling to be able to afford his stuff. it just shows that charging an arm and a leg for clothing can be super detrimental to a brand... if their demographic is not catered to, price-wise.

 

[Scott]

i've always loved yohji because he's stayed true to his own style and philosophy. i've also treasured all the pieces i've bought and would never let them go. however maybe he's become too much of a recluse in the past few years and possibly y3 and coming soon weren't the right moves after all.

comme is conceptual as well and their clothes aren't everyone's cup of tea either, but there is more variety in their stores. the comme mainlines, junya, tao, the diffusion collections, wallets, perfumes etc. all sell to a variety of clients with different budgets, tastes and ages. comme shirt and commecomme are also way cheaper than y's and the general image of cdg is much younger than yohji's, which brings in more customers i guess.

my mother is 60 and used to be a big yohji customer, but has complained for years that the collections look too dated and granny-like. nowadays she and her friends turn to ann, haider and also limi. maybe the yamamoto junior should get more involved with the whole company. let yohji design the mainline of course, but suggest fresh ideas on image, advertising, campaigns etc.

i really hope that the new investors see the brand's unique potential and don't sell it to some idiot like renzo rosso of diesel. i just don't want yohji to end up like margiela

see that's exactly the point. the problem isn't necessarily adapting aesthetically to the market,but broadening the access so they can be acquired more. just like you said,even Y's is more expensive than most other bridge collections.

i think really the mindset has become that perhaps he feels the quality,and the treasure that comes from owning his pieces,may justify the exorbitant price range. but i think things should be reasonable and many are reasonable for the level of workmanship in certain pieces.

 

[wire.artist]

lets see how it works, I wish him the best of lucks, and hearing from him he will keep designing is the best thing I've heard in months

He's so focused on his work, like inaya has said, that he choosed to do one of the most expensive collection ever while dealing with recession and the strongest yen in years...it was aw 08-09. I admire him for that but it was a dangerous moment.
His quality has been always top notch, although I've seen some lack of quality in Y's lately. YY doesn't cut corners, he produces most of his stuff in japan doing the same finishing he was delivering 20 years ago. Who can say the same nowadays?
Honesty and respect for your own work and customers is an unsustainable model nowadays...it makes me feel sick