Shots at London Fashion Weekend, for my second page spread of Beau Monde.

Yohji Yamamoto may stand barely five feet tall, but his effect on world fashion in the last two years has been enormous.

Yohji Yamamoto became one of the most influential designers after making his Paris debut in 1981.
Yamamoto expresses his philosophy and avant-garde spirit in his clothing, frequently creating designs far removed from current trends.
His signature oversized silhouettes in color black, often portrayed with drapes in varying textures, has garnered ardent fans worldwide. Appealing to all generations, Yamamoto’s recent collaboration with more international brands such as have made his extraordinary vision available to a wider range of customers than ever before. Yamamoto’s continued commercial success has led him to open additional stores for his main lines in 2008, in New York and Paris, as well as the first Y-3 store, also in New York.

I am in absolute ore when I look at images of Yamamoto’s collections. I am a huge fan of his work. I love his use of contrast and structural silhouette. Although the majority of Johji’s garments are black or feature black, he uses textures usually associated with femininity, such as lace, to contrast with the masculinity of the colour palette and structure. His pieces look simple from a distance but extremely complex from a close distance, I like the sense of mystery involved. I like the way Yamamoto changes the shape of the typical silhouette with complex tailoring and by expressing himself freely, without following the strict rules of fashion.
Yohji Yamamoto is part of a pioneering fashion sensibility that erupted onto the Parisian catwalks of the early 1980s.Yohji Yamamoto’s inspiration comes from his overall philosophical approach to fashion that makes him interested in more than just covering the body: there has to be some interaction between the body, the wearer, and the essential spirit of the designer. Yohji refuses to accept traditional ideas of female sexual display and reacts against the Western notion of female glamour as expressed in figure-hugging garments. Yamamoto employs a method of layering, draping, and wrapping the body, disguising it with sombre and unstructured garments based on the kimono that ignore the usual accentuation points. Yamamoto’s clothing construction is viewed in the round rather than vertically, not from the neck down as in Western fashion, but a two dimensional approach that explores the visual appeal of asymmetry (an irregular form) Therefore, Yamamoto’s garments have strange flaps, pockets, layers, lopsided collars and hems, set off by the body in motion, and the labels inside are inscribed with the description;
“There is nothing so boring as a neat and tidy look.”

I feel largely inspired by the work of Yohji Yamamoto. I am influenced by the way Yamamoto uses a simple technique but creates something very effective. Similar to Yamamoto I use a related colour palette in my work. I have chosen to use the basic colours of black, white and grey in my most recent project in order to create a harsh and unnatural tone to my final project. There are elements of inspiration from my previous projects. Throughout my last three projects I used a very elegant and simple colour palette, as well as a very simple image and a large use of tonal sketching. Therefore achieving, a simple technique from a distance but a complex image from a closer distance.
My whole ‘Skin and Bones’ project was inspired by one garment by Yohji. Whilst at the ‘Skin and Bones’ exhibition I noticed a garment with laser-cut diamond shapes, embellishing the train of the dress.
I liked the form and constant pattern of the diamond shapes. Again, I feel inspired by the way Yamamoto has created a very diverse effect by just decorating the train of the dress. This research therefore links to my current work because most of my development includes the diamond shape pattern. I first used a tonal copy of the image, but developed my work further by using a range of media; acrylic paint, quilting, fine-line black pen and eventually screen print to create a final, effective image.
I was also inspired by Timorous Beasties’ Damask images, their form and how the repetitive pattern creates an effective image.
Whilst screen printing I used the colour palette of Timorous Beasties; vibrant pinks, purples and greys in order to influence Timorous Beasties’ work into my own.
I love Yamamoto’s work. I personally like his most recent collections as they include more of a light colour palette, compared to the usual colour palette of his previous work. In his latest collections Yamamoto uses white, beige and splashes of colour in his catwalk collections. I love the way that Yohji is a true fashion rebel, refusing to conform to the strict trends and rules of the fashion industry.

Beau Monde Front Cover; Model Dominique Hatton

Various shots for cover page.

Secondary Research – MySpace debate

http://mashable.com/2008/02/03/myspace-debate-tech/

Myspace co-hosts event with MTV and Associated Press to orchestrate a presidential debate, but fails to address key concerns over technology.

· Myspace facilitates the transfer of dialogue between audiences on the web and audiences on television.· MTV, Myspace and Associated Press did not discuss the issues surrounding the continuous Net Neutrality debate; data mining, copyright law and privacy concerns.

· Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Republican runners Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul were present at the event.

· Myspace, the top social network, fails to address key concerns over technology.

· Although Myspace was made as a networking website is rising as a business, generating and focusing on making money.

· With Myspace’s increasing popularity the technology should have been used for more positive things.