Kimono coat
2015 {autumn-winter 2015–16}
- Medium
- wool, cupro
- Measurements
- 131.0 cm (centre back) 59.5 cm (sleeve length)
- Place/s of Execution
- Japan
- Inscription
- label, centre back neckline, woven in cream on black synthetic fibre: COMPOSITION SUR ETiQUETTE ANNEXE / COMPOSITION: SEE ATTACHED LABEL
label, left side front, woven in black on cream synthetic fibre: Yohji Yamamoto / (French)/ MADE IN JAPAN / (French) / COMPOSISTION AND WASHING INSTRUCTIONS / SEE ATTACHED LABEL / 2 - Accession Number
- 2021.118
- Department
- International Fashion and Textiles
- Credit Line
- National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, NGV Supporters of Fashion and Textiles, 2021
© Yohji Yamamoto - Gallery location
- Special Exhibitions Gallery
Ground Level, NGV International - About this work
-
A seminal figure in Japanese fashion, Yohji Yamamoto first studied law before completing fashion design studies at the Bunka Fashion college, Tokyo. In 1981 he made his Paris Fashion Week debut alongside Comme des Garçons founder Rei Kawakubo, where he showcased his early avant-garde aesthetic. For his 2015 autumn–winter collection, Yamamoto investigated the ancient Greek idea that a draped piece of fabric can be simultaneously a complete and an incomplete garment. This sentiment is echoed in Kimono coat, in which Yamamoto softens the kimono’s rigidity, turning the form into an open overcoat with hood. Its vibrant lining links to symbolism associated with red, a colour often seen at Shinto shrines, which, in addition to warding off bad omens, represents the sun and life.