Yohji Yamamoto, who can sew a sleeve more complicated than the global economy, held back on such constructions for fall, producing a collection that sang with simplicity, relatively speaking, and beauty.
It was primarily a coat story that began unfettered with long, lean and mostly black styles cut at the ankle, which put a spotlight on Yamamoto’s masterful tailoring, not to mention his new shoe collaboration with Salvatore Ferragamo. Lines were clean and avant effects were controlled, as in the opening look, a single piece that appeared to be a separate coat and skirt from the front. From there, things built into a graceful a crescendo by way of white piped seams and gentle asymmetrics, such as a pleated panel that fell from the back of an oversized blazer. And toward the end, a pea coat-inspired series bordered on classic, and not just by Yohji standards.
Between the elongated silhouettes and weighty fabrics, the mood was beautiful if elegiac, particularly when it came to two lovely long, black dresses that featured a folded panel of pleats on the front or back. Yet before things get too melancholy, Yamamoto delivered a shot of color with white and red paint, which was splashed on the cuffs and hems of jackets and covered the top of two thick wool toppers that faded into sheer black silk below, a neat trick.
If it sounds straightforward for Yamamoto, the collection was not without his beloved reversals in terms of the look and tone. Consider two backward coats that unzipped from the top to bottom to reveal little black hearts tattooed the models’ legs and back. If that was a hint that love — or maybe hope — was in the air, Yamamoto hammered the optimistic message home with his finale. Five girls wearing brilliant red coats spliced with bubble gum pink walked out hand in hand and formed a circle, leaving all with a warm, fuzzy feeling.