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What’s a better blank canvas than black? It’s raw, unburdened, a reset. To that question, Yohji Yamamoto would certainly answer that there isn’t one—and expectedly so, given he has built an entire body of work largely off the back of black. Leather scraps, pleated appendages belonging to jackets, heavy cotton that tied in knots and fabric trims that twisted and wrapped around the body all made the case again for Yamamoto’s chosen colour of comfort and its unlimited potential in his fall 2023 collection.
This season, the designer appeared to concentrate on the transformative quality of his favourite hue; the ways in which, with careful manipulation, black can appear solid and weighty or featherlight and sensual. The former was brought to life in Yamamoto’s opening looks: dresses and coats, all with asymmetrical hems, were layered with fabric flaps that imbued otherwise A-line silhouettes with movement. A series of outerwear pieces followed, more stripped back than their predecessors, including oversized parkas that extended on Yamamoto’s asymmetrical theme. These evolved into more casual, everyday pieces such as button-up shirts and double-breasted coats, differentiated from the norm via accordion-style pleats that hung from one shoulder or jacket lapels that elongated into hoods.
To uplift the collection and eliminate any potentially sober connotations, Yamamoto integrated fiery red and charcoal into key looks, both in small doses (via tights or trims) and large ones (see one unmissable red coat and a few muted ones, bisected by black and charcoal fabric).
Towards the end, collarbone-teasing dresses, decoratively embellished at the top and flowing out at the bottom concluded the collection on a sensual, even seductive note. Throughout, Yamamoto heaped materials onto each look, reflecting with certainty an economical and resourceful approach to design equally commendable and necessary in today’s world. However, his clothes shined most at their simplest, when they needed neither layers nor colourful accents to stand apart.
