Yohji Yamamoto: " I Hate Fashion "

[softgrey]

thanks for bumping this travolta...
i enjoyed the interview very much....
and thank you mrrene...
wherever you are...

a lot of people who work in fashion also hate it..
but not all-i don't think tom ford hated it...
or john galliano or anna wintour...
some people love it and thrive on it...
those people usually rise to the top...

the people that hate it usually stay on the fringes...
much like yohji has...they are marginalized...
they remain in the shadows...
and truthfully ...
are probably happier there...

rei kawakubo is remarkable because she somehow manages to dance in and out of the shadows...
she doesn't seek the spotlight...
but she also doesn't seem to mind when it shines on her...
it seems like the best of both worlds...
i'd love to be able to do that...

 

[travolta]

IMO,the mere term of fashion can conjure up ideals of fascism. And I believe that's what he means when he says he hates fashion. So he's still in the game and that isn't right? I don't believe that he should stop working just because of that. WE NEED designers like him to help change the system....give us a completely different perspective of what "style" and design are. And you're point about art....Yohji isn't art....he's a craftsman in the first right.

yes, scott i agree w/ this first part. but many people can be a craftsman...but there are few that can tap into something deeper, which he has done. a mere craftsmen do not sound nearly as existential as he does, and this explains why so many people regard yohji's contributions highly because he seems to balance both. but it's as he said in his own words in the film, it's a tricky tight rope.

 

[travolta]

rei kawakubo is remarkable because she somehow manages to dance in and out of the shadows...
i'd love to be able to do that...

ah, you said it soft! some brightness! who is she and how does she do what she does??

 

[PrinceOfCats]

Maybe he has a point but he could be a bit less mystic megg about it - it comes off as quite pretentious. Not to mention that he'd hate being down and out on the streets of Toyko even more, methinks...

 

[travolta]

Maybe he has a point but he could be a bit less mystic megg about it - it comes off as quite pretentious. Not to mention that he'd hate being down and out on the streets of Toyko even more, methinks...

don't you think the world would be much more dull without the mystical? i remember he saying that it is what he does..is study people very intently to activate something that is already there...it's much harder than projecting a personal or societal ideal. i guess a less unpretentious name for mystical is human nature? i think it all makes sense really-- what's the point in designing and creating something that someone doesn't need?

 

[Scott]

Excellent points,Softie.

Travolta,yeah I know he's all that--for certain--but in his world craft is probably the most important to him. And not just in basic skills but he utilizes craft to create his wonderous designs. But art I don't really associate Yohji with....I think when comparing with other mediums,Yohji's more a lyricist or poet to me.

 

[travolta]

think when comparing with other mediums,Yohji's more a lyricist or poet to me.

ah, yes. i can agree with this

 

[softgrey]

i thinks he's a lyricist ...yes...

i hear the songs that he sings...

it would seem to me that if one is genuinely a certain way...
and not 'pretending' to be so...
that there is no danger of pretentiousness...

there are actually deeply thoughtful people in the universe...
not only people pretending to be...
i believe that yohji is evidently the 'real thing'...
as evidenced by his body of work...
the clothes speak for themselves (or rather 'sing'......)

nothing pretentious about it...
he's a genius...
and i think he's right...
he has excellent instincts...probably his greatest gift...
he is wise to trust them...

he's awfully humble and 'down to earth' for somene so accomplished...
IMHO...

 

[travolta]

soft-you gotta check out that movie! i want to know what you think

 

[softgrey]

i loved what he said about his mother and the pressure of family obligations...
i loved what he said about bringing children into this very difficult life...
and i loved how he talked about duty...and trying to be 'good'...

i think it's amazing that he would share such personal info and i think it really gives some insight into the actual 'person' behind the name...

i have dealt with all those issues in my life...
it's just nice to know you're not the only one...
i love you yohji......

yes travolta...
i would like to see the film sometime...

 

[marrimoda]

I can understand what he is expressing...I think any truly thoughtful person working in any business sees the less honorable aspects much more than we do...those aspects are bitter and ugly, but when one is able to measure the positives, and the accomplishments against the more difficult aspects and find that the negatives are outnumbered then you have a manageable balance. This is with any industry. Yohji is not saying Fashion is evil, and people should ignore it, he is saying he hates the hype and machine of it, the coldness of each cycle. But I am sure or hope he remembers that light defines dark, and dark defines light.

I dont love fashion, I love style, creativity, fabrics, color, texture, shape, something new, freshness. We need each type of person in fashion for balance

 

[Scott]

As a friend said herself....fashion=fascism...style=originality.

But to add,fashion is at a state where banality,homogenisation and capitalism rules...and the true beauty of design is hidden from the world's eyes. What's more,there is no sense of authenticity or anything genuine. You might say Vogue does show some things;sheds some light...but I find there's a hypocrisy in publications like that,you know. They show Yohji or somebody really honest in their work and the next pages are about the status shoe or bag. I think alot of us are all at the point where we do indeed detest fashion.

 

[meme527]

i loved what he said about his mother and the pressure of family obligations...
i loved what he said about bringing children into this very difficult life...
and i loved how he talked about duty...and trying to be 'good'...

i think it's amazing that he would share such personal info and i think it really gives some insight into the actual 'person' behind the name...

i have dealt with all those issues in my life...
it's just nice to know you're not the only one...
i love you yohji......

yes travolta...
i would like to see the film sometime...

couldn't have said it better myself softgrey (especially the "shout out" to yohji! )

as a mother, and as a daughter who moved to a town she hates to be with her mother, i've dealt and am dealing actively with all of these issues. and it IS good to know that you aren't the only one - not just me, but yohji AND softgrey and no doubt many more.

thanks, travolta AGAIN for restarting such a great thread. i don't remember reading an interview with him before, and can't wait to see the film. did mr. rene translate this interview from german?

meme

 

[softgrey]

meme......

 

[sea of stitches]

meme, soft grey: you express my sentiments so well, except i am still in the stages of debating whether or not to move closer to my parents. it's an agonizing choice. anyway, thanks!

 

[travolta]

yes, it is in english. there are a couple points in which yohji speaks japanese, which happen to be the times he is most eloquent...and there are english subtitle options for those bits.

 

[Mutterlein]

I don't mean art in the sense of the fine arts but more in the sense of the gallery system that it uses to make, display, and move the work that comes from it. Fashion is an industry with it's own rules and nuances. I think it's funny that he says he hates it but not enough to risk financial loss. What has he REALLY done to help change the way things are done? If anything he just helps to continue the cycle. His clothes may be innovative and progressive but is there anything innovative about they way he does business? The way he shows his clothes and tries to get them into the hands of the people he seems to be making them for? He keeps the seasonal schedules, he hires PR to get his clothes into editorials, he shmoozes with buyers to get more orders, what has he done to change this?

I use Issey Miyake as an example because he was absolutely sick of the fashion industry and now he conducts his own research and makes clothes completely outside of the fashion world. If Yohji Yamamoto has as much sincerity and pathos behind his ideas then why doesn't he do the same and be free of the world of fashion that he seems to hate? I personally think it is about money.

I use Rei Kawakubo as another example. I think she realizes that fashion is a business. It's an industry of making and selling clothes. I think she also realizes that although her designs are progressive and innovative and appeal to more than just the trendy/popular sense of styles, it fills a niche in the market. Not everyone can be like CDG, the market just won't allow it. She knows that and she plays to it. She makes money from being quirky and avante garde, just like Yohji, but I bet she would be more willing to admit it. I read a book about the structure of the CDG business and Rei really began things from a business point of a view, with a heavy respect for the product of course. She knows she is not an artist simply because the system she works in does not allow it. At a certain point high ideals and concepts about the way people should dress become contradictory to how things actually play out. Think of all the CDG merchandise that consists of standard mediocre garments, trousers, slacks, leather wallets...a far cry from what is put on the runway. Yohji may hate the fashion game but he plays it very well.

I think this also why so many belgians don't do so well financially. They have these progressive thoughts and ideas but they forget how harsh business is. They aren't as skilled at playing the game.

 

[Mutterlein]

I totally sound a big anti-yohji guy

I just want to clear up that I do in fact cherish his work and his creativity but I feel it is important to play devils advocate as well.

 

[travolta]

i have to respond to later because i can't now..but i understand what you are saying mutterlein, and i'm glad you brought up those points.

 

[travolta]

i think from what i've read about yohji's nature...his clothing, his business..it all makes sense. he does not lose his intregrity by any means by shying away from the route issey miyake took. I see issey miyake as fashion forward in the way he fully embraces technology and new processes. yohji has said he does not like to think of the future..he seems to keep trying to keep up w/ the present and perserve ideals he finds sacred. and rei, we'll i see her as the most successful fine artist in the world. she is able to experiment, and expand her personal vision through clothing, graphics, environments...how can she fail w/ what she has set herself up as--an innovator, she's the catalyst for cultural phenomenons. she works because she doesn't embrace rigid ideals, even trying to be consistent..her consistentency is inconsistency! how nice is that? anyways, back to yohji..you should read this interview in the japanese avant garde thread..post #298

http://www.thefashionspot.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25936&page=15&pp=20