Yohji Yamamoto’s ever-forward trajectory puts his work in a class all its own. But the designer, born in Tokyo in 1943, didn’t start his career chasing the avant-garde. As a young man, working in his mother’s dressmaking shop, Yamamoto felt a calling to dress women in men’s clothes to shield them from harm and provide respite from the revealing fashions of the time. After graduating from Bunka Fashion College, he debuted his first collection in Tokyo in 1977, then in Paris by 1981. Yamamoto has always blurred the line between couture and ready-to-wear, mixing elements of athletic gear with abstract silhouettes and masterful tailoring. Since 2002, Y-3, his line in collaboration with Adidas, has been wildly successful in stimulating the dialogue between the runways and the streets. Though he takes inspiration from far beyond his own culture, Yamamoto’s vision of deconstructed elegance exemplifies the Japanese aesthetic philosophy of wabi-sabi, the appreciation of beauty that is slightly imperfect, transient, or undone. He works primarily in black, which he values for its ability to swallow light. Asymmetrical cuts, fluid silhouettes, unconventional draping, and unfinished seams are hallmarks of the designer’s work. Yamamoto is known for bringing the artistic and philosophical movement of deconstructivism into fashion in the 1990s. In 2011, the designer was honored with a solo career retrospective at the Victoria & Albert Museum and was awarded the high title of Commander by the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. At 80, Yamamoto continues to design, ever on the cutting edge.

Long sleeve, single-breasted jacket-dress in dark blue wool gabardine. Dress features a small, curved collar, patch pockets at hips, and full-lining. Dress buttons all the way down the center front. 
Label: Yohji Yamamoto 
Size: Small 
Date: Late 20th Century 
Country of Origin: Japan 

Approximate Measurements: 
Chest: 34"
Shoulders: 16"
Waist: 27
Sleeve Length from Center Back Neckline: 30.5"
Length from Center Back Neckline: 32.5"