Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto and photographer Sarah Moon have been working together for a very long time. Finally they’ve decided to make a book of their long collaboration. It is borne out of the desire to gather all the achingly beautiful work they have done over the years, but there is also the acute feeling that now time is running short. There’s not much of a spoken dialogue, apart from a brief exchange in the opening of the book. The photos of Yohji’s collections speak for themselves.
“What made us decide to make this book,” says Sarah Moon in the introduction, “was when one day you said to me: “I want to be with you in the history of fashion.” Of course, I was delighted, and I began to photograph each season’s collection, except during COVID. “Slow slow, quick quick” was our mantra. We didn’t want to rush it, but we both wanted to be sure that we did it when we still had some time in front of us. This year, we decided it was the moment to actually produce the book, as a visual dialogue between us. I felt we were missing some words as an introduction, and we decided to try to recreate what we talk about each time I present you with the photographs.”
Both artists are connected by the same way of looking at their work: the extraordinary fragility of the moment, evanescent, fleeting; the gift of creativity and a permanent search for surprise. The book starts with a short conversation between photographer and designer:
Yohji Yamamoto: “ When I start working on a collection, I’m always looking for myself, for a surprise. Sometimes when I feel very excited by wrapping a body, I feel it might be a gift.”
Sarah Moon: “That is a very good answer, because this is what we all do, using what we feel. And sometimes it does happen.”
Yohji Yamamoto: “Before I start the fittings, I start imagining some type of beauty, sexuality or emotion. Sometimes I can’t find one; sometimes it happens, or it collapses and I have to catch it.”
Sarah Moon: “It’s exactly the same for me. It’s a very short moment and if I don’t catch it, it’s lost. That’s why I try to repeat and repeat; it’s la course à la chimère [chasing a chimera] because sometimes I don’t see it straight away. I have a feeling... Finally I’m looking for an accident. That’s what I call chance or serendipity – working with hope for something you can’t know. A gift as you say, and if it does accidentally happen, then you want to make the most of it. You have to keep in mind that you can catch the gift; you have the capacity. But if you’re feeling lazy, if you’re not very serious, then you’ll miss it.”
Grace is a fleeting moment and these 2 have had the genius to make the miracle happen time and again. We have to keep in mind we can catch the gift if we are committed. It’s all about living gracefully.
~Jean-Sébastien Stehli
Dialogue. Yohji Yamamoto and Sarah Moon. Delpire & Co. publishers. 150€
