For FW21 Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto unleashed his black-clad Yohji army to fight the (other) current world crisis: global warming. Show notes reveal the line is ‘a statement about today’s world’, inspired by the effects of climate change on what we wear and the extremes between summer and winter clothing. 

A twenty-minute film (shot by NY-based photographer Takay) accompanied the collection, inter-cutting models in full flow with close-up stills focusing on garment construction and detailing. Yamamoto himself picks up the mic to provide vocals for the film’s thumping soundtrack.

Weather extremes guide this collection, with looks ranging from flowing shorts and silk shirts to more multi-layered and padded outerwear, including a bondage-like buckle suit. Yamamoto’s signature black dominates with just a few pops of white and muted colours on a handful of looks. Shape and layering, another signature, are also heavily utilised, while natural fabrics like cotton and silk are juxtaposed with synthetics like nylon and polyester.  

Text slogans feature throughout, ranging from a playful: ‘are you bohemian?’ to a more sinister: ‘born to be terrorist’, which are inspired and borrowed from other current social movements including human rights and animal protection.