TEN YEARS OF Y-3

When cult fashion designer and avant-garde guru Yohji Yamamoto first announced he would be collaborating on a line with Adidas, there were undoubtedly some raised eyebrows. Now, ten years later, Y-3 is the poster brand for the intersection between fashion and sportswear, a crossover that has found its way onto many of our favorite runways over the last several seasons. To celebrate this milestone, Y-3 has released 10 Years of Y-3: The Book, which archives pivotal moments in the brand’s history while offering a voyeuristic look into the seemingly unlikely collaboration’s DNA.

For Yamamoto, partnering with Adidas was an opportunity to adapt his boundary-pushing æsthetic for a wider audience. “At a certain point, I stopped seeing my clothing worn by people on the streets,” he says. “In Japan, the three stripes were everywhere and the young crowd did not take them off even when it was time to go to bed.” It was Yamamoto who called up Adidas to forge the collaboration. Luckily the sportswear giants knew as well as his diehard fans that when Mr. Yamamoto calls, you don’t turn him down.

But there is more to Y-3’s unwavering success than the Japanese designer’s signature vision and masterful tailoring. “Adidas and I—we just like each other,” says Yamamoto. “Japanese and German people are intelligent sorts. Our working rhythm is the same. There is nothing that can’t be solved.” The designer embraced the tension between sport and fashion in developing the brand’s identity. “The sports world and its technology seek for necessity, practicality, or functionality while fashion is seeking the opposite,” he says. “Y-3 is a strong examination of the blend of sport and style and the tension caused by mixing tradition with all that is modern.”

Like Yamamoto, there is a considered elusiveness to the book: the 2000 that were published were gifted exclusively to supporters of the brand. However, in keeping with Y-3’s commitment to modernity, it can be viewed in its entirety online. Though the book beautifully documents all the fashion world has gained from a decade of Y-3, Yamamoto can just as easily sum it up in one sentence. “With Y-3, we gave a view to the future.”

To view 10 Years of Y-3: The Book, please visit www.Y-3.com/US/#/book/.

Born and raised in Toronto, Allyson Shiffman discovered her passion for writing while studying abroad in Stockholm. She now lives and works in New York, where she frequently contributes to publications such as Interview, BULLETT, and EXIT. In her spare time, she drinks whiskey, engages in philosophical debates, and complains about mainstream culture.

1 /4

Related

Prabal Gurung's New Book

The Nepalese designer celebrates a decade of championing diversity, inclusion, and a world made “stronger through color” with his vibrant clothing in his first monograph.

Avan Jogia Follows Wherever His Curiosity Leads

With roles in Gregg Araki’s new series Now Apocalypse and this week’s Shaft reboot along with a forthcoming book of poetry and directorial début, the former Nickelodeon star continues to celebrate the freedom to explore and experiment creatively.

Tonne Goodman Shares Her 'Point of View'

In her new book, the celebrated former Vogue fashion director shares images from her childhood, her modeling career, and her family life, along with the countless editorials, advertisements, and covers to which she has lent her crisp eye over the years.

Ethan James Green Photographs 'Young New York'

In his first book, the young photographer shares a personal project of eloquent black-and-white portraits of New York’s trans, non-binary, and queer community.

Lola & Pani Find Brotherhood in 'Northern Rivers'

In their new book, the London-based photographer duo capture a crew of lifelong friends over the course of a seemingly endless summer in Australia.

FUMI NAGASAKA STARTS A 'TEENAGE RIOT'

In her second book, the Japanese photographer captures the individual personalities and æsthetics of four adolescent girls in their hometowns in a collection that is both intimate and anthropological.

RO KWON ON CULTS AND YOUNG LOVE IN 'THE INCENDIARIES'

In her propulsive début novel, ten years in the making, the author ponders the unfathomability of others in the tale of a young woman who joins a cult.

MARTIN ZÄHRINGER GOES FISHING WITH JOHN BAKER

In his first book, the London-based photographer documents every facet of the life of a Barbadian fisherman with whom he felt an immediate kinship, acting as both visitor and companion.

MARIO SORRENTI SHOWS A NEW SIDE OF KATE MOSS

In a new book of previously unreleased photographs, the famed photographer spotlights the iconic model’s innocence from their days of youthful love.

SEBASTIAN BECKWITH DEMYSTIFIES TEA

In his first book, the In Pursuit of Tea founder shares twenty-plus years of experience in a mix of history, cultural study, and instruction manual.

SKATER-SLASH-PHOTOGRAPHER IAN KENNETH BIRD HEADS INTO THE STUDIO

After making his name capturing his friends skating around East London, the British photographer opts for the purity of a white studio for his latest book, Untitled Portraits.

PHOTOGRAPHER NICOLAS KERN CAPTURES THE "CONSTANT NOW" IN HIS BOOK 'ZEITGEISTER'

The photographer finds intimate moments in the juxtaposition between the soon-to-be-extinct medium of large-format instant photography and over sixty new faces shot over just four days.

TYLER WETHERALL TURNS HISTORY INTO MEMORY IN HER MEMOR 'NO WAY HOME'

In her début memoir, the young author recounts a life growing up the child of a convicted pot smuggler and fugitive from the law, reinforcing her relationship with her father and exploring the process of alchemizing her own past into memory.

ADRIAN GAUT PHOTOGRAPHS ALONG WILSHIRE BOULEVARD

In his first book, the photographer captures one of Los Angeles’s iconic thoroughfares with an eye to abstract imagery, finding coherence in Southern California’s diverse sprawl.

MATS GUSTAFSON ILLUSTRATES THE BODY'S FRAGILITY IN 'NUDE'

In a book of watercolors, the Swedish artist and illustrator turns away from his fashion work for more intimate portraits that reflect the fragility of the human body as a protest against the slow response to the AIDS crisis.

NEW YORK BY THE LAST MAGAZINE: AUTHOR ALEXANDRA KLEEMAN SAYS WRITING IS LIKE PLAYING A VIDEO GAME

In her novel and short stories, the Staten Island-based author probes the border between science and literature with discomfiting tales about the body and its relationship to the perilous world around it.

HERMIONE HOBY'S 'NEON IN DAYLIGHT' REINVENTS THE NEW YORK NOVEL FOR A NEW AGE

In her début novel, the young British author ponders questions of selfhood and power dynamics in a thoughtful bildungsroman set during a sweltering New York summer.

SALLY ROONEY TALKS TO HER FRIENDS

In her sparkling début novel, the Irish author questions power dynamics and imbalances of privilege while reflecting on communication in the digital age.