The plus side of blogging about Paris Fashion Week, or other fashion weeks outside of Toronto for that matter, is that one doesn’t usually have trek to an out-of-the-way venue to discover the catwalk show is being held in a freezing school gymnasium; this is what many attendees at Yohji Yamamoto’s fall/winter 2010 collection had to endure.

Many fashion writers and editors associate the setting and vision of Yamamoto’s latest collection with his business troubles of 2009; he came near to declaring bankruptcy and had to close several retail stores including one in New York.

Somewhere in between this time and the showing of his fall/winter 2010 collection, Yamamoto must have taken a vacation on a fishing trawler with a bunch of uniformed students since his inspiration and references seemed to be pulled from the two this season.

A sombre collection majority in navy and black with sporadic appearances of white was the main colour palette. For the most part the garments were shapeless and oversized yet were juxtaposed with tailored double breasted jackets and deconstructed coats with frayed hemlines.  

The collection was simplistic and understated in its presentation and silhouettes, most likely reflective of Yamamoto’s search for the familiar while surrounded by uncertainty of what the future holds. The asymmetrical dresses, knit wear and mesh shirts provided visual and tactile contrasts from the outerwear heavy collection.

Images from Style.com