YOHJI Yamamoto at the V&A

    Photographs courtesy of V&A (Press Office)

Had you asked me what my career would be aged fifteen, like many teenagers I was adamant I  would be tottering around Vogue House in a pair of Louboutins, living an Olivia Palermo-esque life. 

Four years on and my Devil Wears Prada dreams have evaporated and my fascination is floundering. 

This was until a chance encounter meant I ended up at the Yohji Yamamoto exhibition at the V&A, (little did I know the Courtauld would be taking us on their version of a field trip a week later). And so I rekindled the love that once captivated me about fashion. Twice over. 

In the first exhibition to show Yamamoto’s menswear and womenswear together, the exhibition addresses the designer’s prerogative to subvert boundaries set by Western fashion and experiment with new modalities of gender, identity and stereotype. Juxtaposed against a multimedia timeline of Yamamoto’s 30 year “retrospective”, the collection is transformed into a response to changing Japanese culture and ideologies. 

 Set under iridescent lights the starkness of the space invites you to inspect, debate, even touch the clothing; implying a completely personal experience between designer and spectator. For someone who only has the most basic knowledge of the practical side of fashion, the open display of the garments made me consider the process of construction as opposed to reflecting upon its functionality. The space simultaneously highlights the black which unwaveringly dominates Yamamoto’s collections, complete with pops of colour which punctuate the exhibition. 

Despite the bleakness of the exhibition, Yamamoto’s genius speaks for itself; his designs exceed the expected and are thus transposed into the realm of ART.