PFW: Yohji Yamamoto FW21

Yohji Yamamoto closed the fifth day of fashion shows at Paris Fashion Week. If you were waiting for an exhilarating, fresh and colourful closure, maybe you would have done better to resize your expectations. The fall/winter 21/22 collection by Yamamoto is anything but colourful. Of impact, of course, as only the Yamamoto collections can be, but perhaps more dense in depth and reflections than in chromatic patterns.

Indeed, after a first look, the collection may appear empty, and it is not only the lack of color that makes it empty. The setting is dark, almost claustrophobic, makes us immerse in an atmosphere anything but rosy. Precisely for this reason, however, the collection is of impact, because it does not try to go lightly, nor to lighten the pill as many other brands have done in their latest collections. The negative influence of the pandemic can be felt entirely, and it is evident from the dull looks of the models, from the bad hair, from the deliberately scruffy clothes.

Punk blends with the dramatic shapes. Leather, cotton and wool, mixed with polyester, stand out among the materials. Fringes, combat boots, oversized fit and chains weigh down the silhouette, charging it with layers perhaps aimed at protecting the body, like an armor.

It clearly emerges the line of continuity with the menswear collection presented last January; not only for the location -the Aoyama store- but also for the tone and asymmetry in the shapes. The atmosphere of the ’90s is perceptible. On the other hand, Yamamoto was one of the most revolutionary designers who contributed to radically change the aesthetics of the 90s, and here the nostalgia is palpable. The pandemic world for Yamamoto is an aggressive one, perhaps darker than it was before, but also nostalgic and sentimental, even if sharp and pointy.