Y-3

Y-3 SPRING/SUMMER 2013

This season, in celebration of its 10th anniversary, Y-3 blends past and future to create vivid and futuristic interpretations of its sport-style signatures. The result is a look forward at the 10 years to come, rather than a look back at the 10 years past. Shown on Manhattan’s far west side on Sunday, September 9, 2012, as part of New York fashion week, the Y-3 collection explored iconic elements of the label’s pioneering aesthetic: the acid-bright prints; the bold, voluminous silhouettes; the graphic three-stripe motif; and the influential breakthroughs in footwear and apparel. Yohji Yamamoto, the label’s designer, described an act of “walking backward into the future,” suggesting an unabashed embrace of all things Y-3. As artist Devan Harlan’s 3-D projections transformed the St. John’s Center space, models walked the runway to original music by Jiro Amimoto while a front-row crowd of David Beckham, Michael Stipe, A$AP Rocky, Anton Yelchin, Brook Lopez, Isabel Lucas, Lupe Fiasco, Jesse Williams, Natasha Bedingfield, Casey Spooner, and Laure Shang looked on.

The collection sought to reexamine Y-3’s founding mission: to define the future of sport and style. First and foremost, this meant the inclusion of eye-bending graphic prints, designed by Mr. Hayashi, the imperial printmaker to the Japanese royal family (who also designed the now-iconic hibiscus print found in Y-3’s debut 2003 collection). This time, Hayashi produced three motifs—called “Feather,” “Water,” and “Thorn”—in brilliant hues of orange, blue, pink, and green. These prints swirled across everything from mesh parkas, baseball caps, and silk scarves to stretch tights, canvas totes, and ruffle gloves. In similarly graphic fashion, Y-3 deployed the adidas three-stripe motif to dramatic effect: emblazoning it in varying widths on billowing coats, pleated skirts, and bold accessories.

This season, Y-3 also channeled a classic sophistication, embodied for women in refined tennis dresses with pleated skirts, jersey shirts with tiered ruffles, and mesh swing dresses with asymmetric draw-cord details. While volume was present, there was a feminine silhouette and a newfound focus on the waist. Whether it was a neat blazer in micro French terry, a cropped blouson jacket, or a short-sleeve trench-coat dress, these pieces embraced a womanly elegance. The men’s collection also displayed a lightness and a lack of construction, presenting easy parkas, linen blazers, oversize shorts, and dress shirts inlaid with contrasting patterns of black and white.

Prints served as the basis for footwear that built on adidas tradition, reinterpreting the shell-toe shoe and other classics. Cut-out wedges and open-toe strappy sandals added serious height, while men’s footwear played with Y-3 signatures to create a myriad of printed and striped options. Sleek sunglasses, produced in collaboration with Linda Farrow, completed the look, along with delicate man-made “straw” visors and chic riding hats.

Backstage, Beckham shared his fondness for the label. “I really appreciate the fact that adidas had the vision 10 years ago to team up with Yohji Yamamoto. Y-3 is a perfect fusion of sport and fashion—absolutely pioneering.”

Of the collection, Mr. Yamamoto said: “My desire was and still is to make sportswear elegant and chic. With Y-3, we created something that did not exist before. After 10 years, we are falling in love with the three stripes once more.”

adidas Board Member Global Brands, Erich Stamminger added: "Ten years ago, adidas and Yohji Yamamoto launched a collaboration that opened up a new market segment. The success of Y-3 is due to the integrity of Yohji’s designs and the authenticity of the adidas brand. Only the brand with the three stripes can do this.”