Y-3's Winter Wonderland
By Godfrey Deeny
(Photos by Gruber-FWD)
PARIS, Mar 17, 2003/ FWD/ --- Sometimes the best ideas are staring you right in the face. Spraying fake snow on to a runway has certainly been done before, but by covering the presentation of his Y-3 collection with faux crystals, Yohji Yamamoto captured what was best about this show -- winter wear.
Though this is the fall-winter season, most designers in Paris have a tendency to show just autumn wear. Not Yohji, who presented Y-3 looks that would have been ideal in the perfect snowstorm that blanketed New England last month.
His colorful moon boots, and aprčs-ski footwear with yellow soles and Adidas diagonal three stripes will open up a whole new area of growth for this joint venture between the Japanese designer and the German brand.
Staged as a happening, the Bastille show space included projections of aerial images of massive views of an endless white mountain vastness, and a huge Perspex and neon Y-3 logo inside of which snow fell.
In a clever move, Nadja Auermann made a comeback in this show, her first catwalk turn in Paris in three years - her icy beauty ideal for this winter moment.
What worked so well in this collection were the slim nylon bombers with sergeants' stripes and the Y-3 logo on the upper arm, snug parkas, excellent burgundy nylon cargo pants and sailor duffel coats. Yamamoto's use of the Adidas logo as detailing, trim and ironic triple zips was cleverly restrained -- you got the logo but didn't feel overpowered by it.
The event attracted Zinedine Zidane, little known in the US maybe, but the most creative playmaker in world soccer, and Djibril Cisse, the greatest goal scorer in France.
"It's sport but it's fashion," smiled Yohji as he posed with the soccer stars. Suddenly a huge whoop of joy erupted from several of Yamamoto's assistants - Zidane and Cisse, both as it happens signed to Adidas, had given the design staff their autographs. Yep, it's sport and fashion and Y-3.
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