Born in Tokyo in 1943. After completing a degree in law, Yohji Yamamoto turned his attentions to fashion by working with his mother and graduating from Bunka Fashion Collage in Tokyo in 1969. In the same year, he started the Yohji Yamamoto label.

His international success came in 1981, when he showed in Paris. His oversized black, distressed and deconstructed collection caused a sensation. His work was compared to that of Rei Kawakubo but his approach is in fact quite different. For Yamamoto, a continuing love affair with black is intended to focus the viewer’s attention on the cut and proportions with no distraction.

For over thirty years, Yohji Yamamoto has relied heavy on the relationship that exists between the garment and wearer. He revels in asymmetry - for him this is a thing of beauty. Imperfections, creatively inspire him. He wants to see scars, failure, disorder and distortions in his work which, is entirely individual and highly complex, and there is no doubt that his influence is everywhere.