30 years of Yohji Yamamoto!

Yohji Yamamoto’s mantra ‘fabric is everything’ defines the Japanese designer’s first solo exhibition in the UK. Marking thirty years since his first show in Paris, the V&A are playing host to an installation-based retrospective, showcasing highlights from Yamamoto’s couture, film, literary and charitable achievements.

Put together by long term collaborator Masao Nihei, the exhibition is laid out so as to encourage you to walk amongst mannequins wearing defining pieces from each collection. Deliberately encouraging you to get as close to the clothes as possible, crinkled velvet, tiny chiffon pleats and thick felt are frustratingly close but thanks to the museum’s (quite reasonable) not touching rule, are always out of reach.

Renowned for his experimental approach to every aspect of design, constantly playing with the boundaries of shape, fabric and gender, it is the menswear here that really stands out. A chance to see Yamamoto’s SS2004 collection via the screens lining the walls shows a collection worn entirely by male models yet trousers are entirely absent. Somehow though, in Yamamoto’s world, oversized jackets and bare legs, large velvet collars and long tartan wraps seem like perfectly natural menswear.

This is the nature of Yamamoto’s work though – making the extreme seem accessible to the point where his work inspires as well as informs. The sight of the band Madness dancing down his AW 2004/2005 catwalk, Takeshi Kitano building the film Dolls around Yamamoto’s clothes and his (at the time) groundbreaking collaborations with sportswear brands only scratch the surface of how widespread his influence is.

To get the best out of the exhibition, visit on a weekday when all the mannequins are on display. Running from 12^th March 10^th July 2011.

Carys Kirkpatrick

Credit: Nick Knight