As one of the greats of avant-garde fashion, Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto is no stranger to taking risks. His silhouettes, often tailored with playful ruffles or dramatic draping, can distort rather than enhance the figure of the person wearing them. For Yamamoto, fabric is something to sculpt into unexpected textures and shapes. In a tribute to that aesthetic, the Design Museum Holon in Israel is holding the country’s first exhibition of the designer's work, through October 20.
"After exhibiting in London, Florence, and Paris, it is a natural flow for me to organize an exhibition in Israel this time — a country very rich in culture, " said Yamamoto in a release. "In an era where we only receive prepared information, as a thinker, I want to see Israel with my own eyes and feel it through my skin to get to know it well. Now I will be able to experience it live."
The series of site-specific installations, conceived by Yamamoto, his long-time collaborator Masao Nihei, and museum curator Galit Gaon, arrived in Israel during a year of anniversaries — 2012 marks the 60th year of the country’s relationship with Yamamoto’s home country, Japan, and 40 years since the birth of the designer’s first clothing line, Y’s.
The three sought to create a dialogue with Yamamoto’s creations and the museum’s environment, which was designed by Ron Arad. The exhibition consists of around 80 Yamamoto womenswear and menswear garments — mostly black, his preferred color, with periodic bursts of color — from the 1970s to present day. In one space, the feel and sounds of a bustling city are recreated through an urban soundtrack and 38 moving figures; another room acts as a meditative area, with a garden of soft lights illuminating the 10 black and red evening gowns in the gallery.
But Gaon insists that the show itself is only half of the experience.
"Bringing together two creators like Ron Arad and Yohji Yamamoto wasn’t self-evident, and was attended by meticulous examination of movement and presentation space — exterior and interior alike, " said Gaon in a release. "At the same time, we look forward to the moment when the very first visitors come in, and only then will the exhibition come to life. "
Click on the slide show to see images from "Yohji Yamamoto," at Design Museum Holon in Israel through October 20.