Yamamoto at the V&A

©V&A

Yohji Yamamoto

Victoria & Albert Museum

"An Artist is somebody who creates things that you don't need to have"

Yohji Yamamoto

I was thrilled about having the opportunity to see the Yohij Yamamoto exhibition at the V&A, especially, after the visit at the Wapping Project last month, where the famous 1998 wedding dress was exhibited. 

I was hoping that the V&A exhibit would be equally progressive... I was in for a great disappointment. The garments were hanging slack and styleless in a room with harsh lighting and an unfinished look. (contrary, the other Yamamoto installations around the museum was barely lit at all). The impersonal factory look of the room comes of as contradictory to Yohji Yamamoto's sense of humor and charm in his work. 

Yohji Yamamoto did begin to design so women could wear mens clothes he says... but did it have to be presented so slack and shapeless? 

Honestly, I was thinking to myself that he just might not be my kind of designer.

That is where I will have to blame the presentation, considering the way the fabric actually floats and swings on the female bodies when it's worn. This you can get the feel of in the videos... which were a lot more interesting than the rest of the exhibit. Here, you get a sense of Yohij Yamamoto's accomplishments and how he constantly impresses us with his choice of textiles and transformation of design. 

©V&A

I especially enjoyed the videos where the band Madness was the models or the one with the Ziganes gypsies, these were both surprises for me. Tried to find them on YouTube to share with you, but will have to do with this one....

Quite entertaining and legendary. Yohji Yamamoto himself is doing the female/male part of this fun wedding couple.

With Love 

Kristin