For Fall 2001, Yamamoto blended technical fabrics like neoprene and active sports looks with his own color palette and arty dimension.

The result: brilliantly clever and, above all, new clothes.

By sticking almost exclusively to navy blue and black, the designer forced the audience to concentrate on his clever use of proportions.

Thus, zip-front jogging sweatshirts finished at the knee or big-necked sweaters curled around the head.

Certain looks were more unlikely than ironic, but fashion so rarely follows the Olympian ideals of the pursuit of excellence.

The collection was staged in the Grande Halle de la Villette, a converted former slaughterhouse that is a brilliant example of 19th century metal architecture.

Video cameras ran on tracks on either side of the runway and a huge gantry swung in front of the photographers, much to their noisy irritation as it interrupted their sight lines.

With thousands of new sneakers jumping off production lines every week, it’s no easy feat to develop new sport shoes.

But Yamamoto did.

Playing with the by-now classic Adidas triple stripe, Yohji presented brilliant boxing boots, flat-footed blue tennis shoes and black ‘n’ white brothel creepers with the designer’s name etched onto the sides.

All of them will be hugely copied. No one will ever match the original.

Yohji Yamamoto

Yohji Yamamoto

Yohji Yamamoto