At Yohji Yamamoto, looks were layered and imbued with rough, “unfinished” details. Officer coats with imperfect embellishments, military berets and caps, unmatched patterns unevenly patchworked, knits were dyed and hand-painted. But there was something absolutely romantic about these rebellious-looking guys. Swaths of beautiful, printed silk floating alongside a few silhouettes were pure poetry. The 76-year-old’s idea to develop these figures as “Partisans” sends the message that he remains a true nonconformist. “I used to explain my spirit as anti-trend, anti-fashion. I kept saying I’m an outsider. Now the vocabulary is not enough. And I’m angry about what’s going on in fashion, so I have become partisan.” It’s a word that people today assume is political. “Or dangerous,” Yamamoto added.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.