Yohji Talking

YOHJI YAMAMOTO says his 10-year-long pairing with adidas started after he began to feel he was losing touch with his customer base.
"People started calling me 'The Master' but I doubted that ordinary people were wearing my clothes," he tells us. "At the time I saw so many people wearing clothing with those three white stripes and I said to myself 'This is it.' That was how we began."
The designer, who unveils his autobiography - My Dear Bomb - in June, says it is his Japanese heritage and adidas' German roots that makes them such a successful pairing.
"Adidas and I - we just like each other," he explains simply. "Japanese and German people are intelligent sorts. Our working rhythm is the same."
Talking at the launch of the label's first ever London flagship store on Conduit Street, Yamamoto asserts London is an important market for the brand to tackle.
"To me it represents a new trend," he says. "It's very cosmopolitan. There is such a people and culture mix. There is a real level of cultural sensitivity here."
In other Y-3-related news, the label has launched its first ever ecommerce site. Its spring/summer 2011 collection can now be bought online HERE.

Y-3 London, 54 Conduit Street, London, W1S 2YY.
source: Vogue UK