Y-3 Show Made Us Want To Probe Yohji Yamamoto's Mind

Yohji Yamamoto presented his fall collection of his Adidas brand, Y-3, yesterday in New York. His memoir, My Dear Bomb, comes out in English shortly. Having very much enjoyed the show, and the book, I figured why not juxtapose the two?

“In short, a man cannot accept anything that surpasses him. He loves only himself, though he might experience the joy of living by exaggerating the instant in which he exchanges a simple greeting with a complete and utter stranger passing by.” — Yohji Yamamoto, My Dear Bomb

“All men, essentially, feel the same way. Without exception they want to break free from the lie they are living at the moment, somewhere find the right woman, and disappear with her. The simple fact of the matter is, however, that most men do not act on that desire.” — Yohji Yamamoto, My Dear Bomb

“When I had passed the age of fifty the woman who had dedicated long years of her life to me suddenly called me to her and told me she was determined to have a child. ‘I see,’ I said.

[…]

I had no grounds for objection, so I met individually with each and every other woman I had been seeing and carefully explained the situation. The circumstances being what they were, I said, it would be best if we no longer saw each other. They all readily agreed, and our relationships were ended.” — Yohji Yamamoto, My Dear Bomb

“Mother had always held out hope that he would someday come home, but she decided on the funeral as a means of consoling the relatives and neighbors. Died in the line of duty during fierce fighting in the mountainous region east of Baiguo, Philippines, said the official notice of death. His remains have yet to come.” — Yohji Yamamoto, My Dear Bomb

“In my youth I wanted to become a painter.” — Yohji Yamamoto, My Dear Bomb

“Ah, in those days the seats on the Aeroflot flights made my ass hurt. And these days the ashtrays have disappeared from the seats in first class.” — Yohji Yamamoto, My Dear Bomb

“To collapse right in the middle of work, be carried to the hospital, to be diagnosed with some grave illness, and pass into the beyond a few days later. That would be ideal.” — Yohji Yamamoto, My Dear Bomb

“Will there come a time when my anger dissipates as well? Will there come a time when my mouth drops open, I forget my resistance to all things and accept them instead, when I no longer distinguish between men and women, when I transcend all the artifice that I spread?” — Yohji Yamamoto, My Dear Bomb

“My understanding is that the word ‘accessory’ can also mean ‘an accomplice in crime.’ This implication makes me hate accessories even more. I wonder how in the world people can bear to have those things around their necks and on their wrists.” — Yohji Yamamoto, My Dear Bomb

The display of ornaments and decorations in Europe seem to me nothing more than a frivolous game played with the cultural heritage that one race has looted from another.” — Yohji Yamamoto, My Dear Bomb

“Just as man lives and grows old, so too does fabric live and age. When fabric is left to age for a year or two, it naturally contracts, and at this point, it reveals its charm.” — Yohji Yamamoto, My Dear Bomb

“The morning after a man and a woman have spent the night together, she might say, ‘I’m going to jump in the shower. Let me borrow this for a minute, okay?’ She may throw on one of his white shirts made of broadcloth, and though it is too big for her, it will conform to her shape. The brightness of the shirt will flow to the peak of her breasts, the pleats will gather at her elbow, and the shadows will stretch across her chest. I have made clothing entirely in hopes of recreating such bewitching, totally unexpected visions.” — Yohji Yamamoto, My Dear Bomb

“Rather than prattle on endlessly about art and concept, one is better served by living.” — Yohji Yamamoto, My Dear Bomb

“When I release a collection, though, it always feels as though I have been stripped naked before the crowd.” — Yohji Yamamoto, My Dear Bomb

“The shapes of the human shoulder are as numerous as the types of faces. Ready-to-wear clothing must somehow squeeze them all into a single appealing form.” — Yohji Yamamoto, My Dear Bomb

“Attaching the sleeves is like working with fixed verse poetry. From within the infinite possibilities, there is only one option that is just right. Find it and use it.” — Yohji Yamamoto, My Dear Bomb

“As I watch the fashion scene in the world today, it strikes me that there is no place for me, and I often feel like retreating.” — Yohji Yamamoto, My Dear Bomb

“The true masters of the neckline are Sonia Rykiel and Comme des Garçons.” — Yohji Yamamoto, My Dear Bomb

“Having tasted a chilled champagne in a hotel suite is fine, but one should also have enjoyed a tasty glass of beer bought with one’s last few coins while down and out.” — Yohji Yamamoto, My Dear Bomb

“To tell the truth, quite often while doing the preliminary stitching on a garment I have snipped open a pocket hole with a scissor to find the garment naturally respond with an open-mouthed grin — the pocket has found its home.” — Yohji Yamamoto, My Dear Bomb

“No matter how elegant the evening dress, I want very much to attach a pocket. If it has no pocket, it means that the woman will have to carry a handbag. And with that handbag comes the silly concern that it might be stolen. An inconvenience is there from the very start.” — Yohji Yamamoto, My Dear Bomb

“Nowhere do we see more clearly the painful absurdities of a human being’s desire to possess things. When we desire some expensive item, we are overcharged for it, when we go to sell that item, the offers are low. The characterization might be overly reductive, but the fact remains that our desire to possess things always leads in the end to our being forcefully parted from them at a loss.” — Yohji Yamamoto, My Dear Bomb

“I dislike the pyramids. I do not believe in anything like enlightenment.” — Yohji Yamamoto, My Dear Bomb

“One dons a jacket and one buttons it. The relative weight of the jacket gathers at precisely that point. It is at that instant that the garment comes to life and the button has fulfilled its destiny. The life — or death — of a garment depends on finding the point of rapture for that button.” — Yohji Yamamoto, My Dear Bomb

“I have no desire to make the perfect garment.” — Yohji Yamamoto, My Dear Bomb

“The creation of a single garment is accompanied by all sorts of pain and suffering.” — Yohji Yamamoto, My Dear Bomb

“It requires extraordinary strength to live one’s life grappling with the most fundamental questions.” — Yohji Yamamoto, My Dear Bomb

“There is always somewhere deep in my heart the sense that I have failed miserably. I am still failing, still not making the grade. That sense of failure, however, provides a certain type of rapture. One who believes he has failed has nothing in this world to cling to, to obsess over.” — Yohji Yamamoto, My Dear Bomb