Yohji Yamamoto Restrospective at the V&A

Part I
Processes and Techniques

© Courtesy of Jeremy Stigter (click image for larger version)

Yohji Yamamoto's custom-made textiles use a variety of traditional Japanese techniques and other more common weaves such as gabardine and tweed. All his fabrics are made in Japan to his own specifications, making them unique to his designs.
'Fabric is everything. Often I tell my pattern makers, "Just listen to the material. What is it going to say? Just wait. Probably the material will tell you something."'
- Yohji Yamamoto


Fabrics

The importance of the fabric is tangible in every Yamamoto piece. From deciding the exact balance between the warp and the weft of the fabric and dyeing it the ideal hue to establishing the number of washings required to achieve the perfect balance between new and old, every fabric Yamamoto uses is specially created for him in Japan. Yamamoto's preference for exceptionally heavy fabrics and textiles not generally utilized in womenswear, high fashion or even clothing in general lends a particular slant to his sartorial language.
Embroidery

Yohji Yamamoto often uses embroidery, both hand and machine-made, particularly for his menswear designs as can be seen in Autumn/Winter 2006-7, Spring/Summer 2009 and 2011 collections. These intricate decorations contribute to Yamamoto's underlying desire to subvert people's perceptions of what men and women should wear.
Knitwear

The use of knitwear in Yohji Yamamoto's work often emphasises his wish to create space between the garment and the body. The heavy knit featured in both his Autumn/Winter 1998-99 womenswear and Autumn/Winter 2006-7 menswear collections, give the wearer the possibility of inhabiting the garment naturally, without being restricted by a predetermined form.
from the v&a's website about the exhibit and yohji's work...
 
Part II

Shibori

Shibori is a particular method of dyeing cloth by binding small areas with either silk or cotton thread and using a wooden bucket to isolate areas to be dyed. Due to its intricate nature, it is one of the most work-intensive and expensive ways of dyeing. Yohji Yamamoto used this technique in his Autumn/Winter 1994-5 and Spring/Summer 1995 womenswear collections.
Yuzen

Kyo-yuzen is a dyeing technique which originated in Kyoto in the 1700s and is traditionally used for Kimonos. It consists of over 20 steps including design, drawing, gluing, dyeing and decorating. Yohji Yamamoto uses this dyeing method frequently, often through non-traditional motifs as can be seen in his Autumn/Winter 2009-10 menswear collection.

 
the V&A does this sort of exhibition so well...
i loved going there when i was studying abroad in london...

yohji is such a great subject for a retrospective...
so atypical and influential...

going to go back and pore over everything in this thread
 
Come hell or high water, I am going to make it to this one. I agree with Suzy Menkes, Yohji's clothes are often gentler and more classic than those of Comme, but I still like the idea of setting him alone in this exhibition. I didn't make it to the Dreamshop in Antwerp in 2006, so not going to make that mistake twice.
 
softie,or even merely the FIT museum? i know valerie steele has done an exhibition on japanese designers before but never one exclusively on yohji or rei singularly. i agree with you wholeheartedly....we are due for some exhibitions on rei and yohji. the costume institute had one for mcqueen why not rei and yohji? they single-handedly changed fashion's landscape.
 
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softie,or even merely the FIT museum? i know valerie steele has done an exhibition on japanese designers before but never one exclusively on yohji or rei singularly. i agree with you wholeheartedly....we are due for some exhibitions on rei and yohji. the costume institute had one for mcqueen why not rei and yohji? they single-handedly changed fashion's landscape.
the FIT gallery is small and rather lame...
there is a viv westwood show there at the moment which i am planning on going to see...

but i really believe that yohji belongs in a more dignified setting...
:king:
 
Visited the exhibit on Friday and it is truly amazing and inspiring. Didn't know it costs 7 Pound but was worth it.
 
looking forward to go see it with my friend in may!
 
has anyone been to see this?
any feedback...tips?...
any bits that are highlights and not to be missed?

how about the satellite exhibits-?
i'm particularly curious about this
Wapping Project satellites

As part of this exhibition, two further satellite installations are on display across London.

Yohji Making Waves, Wapping Projects, March 2011, photography by Imogen Eveson

Yohji Making Waves

12 March -14 July 2011
Wapping Project
Wapping Wall, London E1W 3SG
Wapping

Making up the third element of the series of exhibitions devoted to the work of the iconic Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto in 2011, The Wapping Project will install just one major piece in the cavernous Boiler House of the Wapping Hydraulic Power Station; the celebrated, oversized white silk wedding dress with bamboo crinoline (A/W 1998). The installation seeks to capture by way of metaphor, something of the wit, simplicity and imagination of this extraordinarily influential designer.



from the v&a site...

any feeback is appreciated...
:flower:
 
i guess you are going to be the reporter on task. i cant believe you have to go to a hydraulic power station, that is so cool.
 
^Same :P.

It was amazing! i spent about an hour in the Exhibit, i had to keep touching the Red pleated dress and the Black pleated dress that looked like it was knotted! i was in awe of it all, but W36 (exhibit number) was also a fave of mine.

I also got the Exhibit book, that too is beautifully presented.
 
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did you go to wapping?


it's ALL about wapping wall...imho...
:heart:
 
Pictures from the Exhibit.

110107.jpg
110108.jpg

*vam.ac.uk
 
^ did you take them your self is photography aloud?

Ahh I am so excited for my trip to london next week now I can not wait to see this. :heart: Ive got a feeling I might be spending rather a long time in there.
 
^No i didn't, they're postcard pictures from the V&A website.

Your not aloud to take photographs in the Exhibit nor are you aloud to sketch, but you can take notes and your also aloud to touch the garments.
 
aloud----> allowed...

***i took pics...:ninja:...


:innocent:...



:P
 
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