Yamamoto was born on October, 3rd 1943 in Tokyo. At first he studied jurisprudence, later he began to study fashion design at the fashion school Bunka Gakun. He finished this school in 1969 with a diploma.
Yamamoto’s mother was a dressmaker in Japan. His father died in war when Yamamoto was two years old. Ever since this time Yamamoto’s mother has been wearing black clothes only. This was the reason for Yamamoto’s preference of black. In 1972 he founded his own fashion company and in 1977 he presented his first pret-a –porter collection in Tokyo.
The following collections were shown in Paris in 1981 and in NY in 1982.
Yamamoto’s first Parisian show received a bad press from the critics. They said that his collection looked like the end of an atomic explosion. So they said this would be the end of fashion.
He is not only interested in womens fashion but from1984 onward he has designed men’s clothes and since 1991 as well underwear. Yamamoto’s place of business is Paris. Yamamoto once said : „ I’m not a couturier, I’m a dressmaker.

Yamamotos style

Yamamoto uses cut, shape and silhouette in a typical way. These aspects are most important for him. His designs are stern and clothes seem to be dark. The creation are experiments with draping, wrapping and binding. But knotting, creasing and sewing are also part of it. Yamamotos design is independent from influences of the spirit of the age. In the 80ies Yamamotos creations jeopardised the traditional European fashion. This was an appeal to rethink the ideas about fashion. The designers clothes do not have to fit tightly but they have to be spatial - a free cover. The clothes wrap the body which allows the wearer space to move. The putting together of different pieces of cloth causes a certain effect because the threadlines meet variously. Each of the dresses has its own look. Yamamoto takes normal girls with serious faces as models. His favourite colours are black and white. Yamamotos designs are for both sexes.

Description of pictures

In the pictures you can recognise the following aspects of Yamamoto’s design :
In the summer 2000 collection Yamamoto introduces a waistline and dresses are tightly cut to the upper part of the body. This is a change in his own style, which before was far from tightly cut. He put together pieces of different materials arbitrarily. He compose simple dresses with a half coat. His fashion is oversized and sack good, he covers the body consciously, instead of staging the body.
In his choice of colours he prefers black, but he uses light, tender colours too.
With the passing of the years he changed his style. His style is no longer strict and dark but it seems cheerful.
People say the hand of master has become lighter.
With his clothes he doesn’t want to give a second skin to the body, but a suited room for movement.
He reaches this effect with crossing threadlines and diagonally set in pieces of material.
The determining element of Yamamoto is the condition of the materials he uses.
Stiff cloth inspires him to square cuts and flowing cloth to round, soft falling forms.

Filmtipp : Aufzeichnungen zu Kleidern und Städten ( 1989)
Wim Wenders

Vocabulary

appeal- Aufruf
creasing- Falten
cut- Schnitt
draping- Drapierung
jeopardise- herausfordern
knotting- Knoten
shape- Form
stern- streng
threadline- Fadenlauf
to fit tightly- enganliegend
wrapping- Umhüllung

By Britta Becker und Silvia Brindlmayer

Sources

Lehnert, Gertrud: Geschichte der Mode des 20. Jahrhunderts. Köln: Könemann, 2000.
Loschek, Ingrid: Die Modedesigner. Ein Lexikon von Armani bis Yamamoto. München: Beck, 1998.
Loschek, Ingrid: Mode & Kostümlexikon. Stuttgart: Chek / Redams, 1987.
Seeling, Charlotte: Mode - das Jahrhundert der Designer. Köln: Könemann, 1999.

Timeline Fashion

Copyright 2000 Berufskolleg Humboldtstraße Köln