YOHJI YAMAMOTO
TEXT BY DONATIEN GRAUPHILOLOGIST
It is often said that, with a thread, one could remake the entire world: weave it all together, make it one, while following a line that consistently shifts, moves, redefines itself, self-standing while shaping reality. Yohji Yamamoto’s clothes are made of threads: often at times, they are not hidden, they are exposed, as a badge of honor. They are not concepts brought into the material world, they are matter itself, things, that carry a certain weight, are light at times, defy gravity or, on the contrary, bring a presence to the body that will act as an armor – and yet liberate it. We as a culture have tried to hide threads, seen them as imperfections, rather than a feature. We as a culture have craved the image of seamlessness and considered it to be perfection.
However, they bear witness to something else, something more than that. They are the signs of presence, the very tools to remind us that we are alive. When we touch the thread, when we take it between our fingers, we feel that this piece of clothing is real. Others desire touching the threads of these clothes and feel that they too are alive. When people view someone wearing them, they have the direct sense that this person is more alive. Being alive, that is, being present: not only in a theatrical or in a subdued manner, but in a way that challenges those ideas to open a different path for existence, beyond categories.
Those visible threads make sentences: some are quotations, some are statements. The language in which they are expressed can be a little broken, damaged: but that is not the point. Their imperfection paves the way for a heightened sensitivity, for a different form of understanding. The continuity of a thread makes for the structure of a thing. The model for computers was couture: the very act of building a reality from a tiny thread – the very reality we will wear on us – is directly linked with the opening of digital worlds. Yohji Yamamoto’s designs call upon us to feel, to live, and to be present to ourselves and to others, to an ever-expanding field of sensitivities: no contemporary numbness, but the intensity of presence. No digital culture, but the culture of our fingers – a return to the etymology.
Those visible threads make sentences: some are quotations, some are statements. The language in which they are expressed can be a little broken, damaged: but that is not the point. Their imperfection paves the way for a heightened sensitivity, for a different form of understanding. The continuity of a thread makes for the structure of a thing. The model for computers was couture: the very act of building a reality from a tiny thread – the very reality we will wear on us – is directly linked with the opening of digital worlds. Yohji Yamamoto’s designs call upon us to feel, to live, and to be present to ourselves and to others, to an ever-expanding field of sensitivities: no contemporary numbness, but the intensity of presence. No digital culture, but the culture of our fingers – a return to the etymology.
Yohji Yamamoto can do seamless, he can make perfect clothes that will follow traditional patterns – the very patterns which have ruled courts for centuries. They were the birthplace of fashion, and, still today, govern the contemporary super-power of image-making that is known as the fashion system. He knows them, understands them, does not want to abide by them. Truly modern, not only does he deconstruct the architecture of clothes, but he also wants to keep the evidence of architecture visible – make it into a thing of its own. The apparent threads may be connected to grunge, or punk rock culture, as signs leading towards potential destruction. They may be the traces that everything was once destroyed and could very well be destroyed again.
BEHIND THE LOOK
Model
Alessandro
Photo
Buonomo Cometti