Designer Crochet Project: Yohji Yamamoto

Last week for the Designer Crochet Project we explored the work of Vivienne Westwood. This week we’ll look at fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto.

Fashion Designer Yohji Yamamoto

Simone Werle’s 50 Fashion Designers You Should Know says, “in the early 1980s this avant-garde designer’s deconstructed clothes turned the Western idea of aesthetics on its head”. Yamamoto was born in the 1940s in Japan and studied law before studing fashion in Tokyo. He launched his first label, called Y’s, in 1972, presented his first Tokyo collection in 1977 and then hit the paris runways in 1981. The show got a lot of attention wore asymmetrical uncolored clothing and white makeup. He continued to intrigue; Werle reports that in 1987 designer Azzedine Alaia left preparations for his own show to go see what Yamamoto was putting on the runway. Some more fun facts:

• He dated designer Rei Kawakubo
• He did costume design for the opera in the 1990s
• He has won numerous international fashion awards
• Yamamoto has collaborated extensively with various brands, including Adidas, and artists, including Sir Elton John
• Yohji Yamamoto was invited to curate the second issue of A MAGAZINE curated by in 2005, following Martin Margiela
• In 2008, the Yohji Yamamoto Fund for Peace was established to foster development of China’s fashion industry

Yohji Yamamoto Crochet

Not Quite Crochet

But doesn’t it look like crochet motifs on this Yamamoto jacket?

Yohji Yamamoto Knits

The designer has done some really great knitwear:

Other Yohji Yamamoto Designs

They may not be crochet but they sure are cute:

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