Yohji Yamamoto wins DFA Lifetime Achievement Award

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Dec 7, 2017

Yohji Yamamoto is about to win another award.  The Japanese fashion great will on Friday night pick up his latest distinction when he receives a Design for Asia (DFA) Award in Hong Kong.

Yamamoto has already been conferred such distinctions as Commander of Arts and Letters, France’s highest honour for art and culture, and Royal Designer for Industry by Britain’s Royal Society for Arts.
 
The Japanese designer will pick up his latest distinction at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. Yohji-san, as he is known in the fashion industry, gains the award in recognition of “his avant garde style (and) his unique designs that have graced international runways since his debut in Tokyo in 1977,” according to a release from DFA.

Four years later, in 1981, he began showing in Paris, establishing a reputation as a legendary draper and master of fashion-forward silhouettes, known for creating clothes of distinction that protect, as much as they render more beautiful, both women and men.

Yamamoto told FashionNetwork.com: “It was a big surprise for me. And, of course, I felt very much honored to be one of the creators.  For a long time, since I started showing collections in Paris, fashion used to be treated as the lowest level of every kind of art. France was the only country which took very serious care of fashion. Then I received the honorable prize, Commander. This time, I’m here to receive such an honor in the most progressive city in Asia. That makes me feel very strong. That makes me feel that I can continue working on until I am done.  Ladies and gentlemen, now it’s time from Asia, by Asia, for Asia.”
 
After launching Y-3 jointly with Adidas in 2002, he did more than any other designer to develop the whole category of athleisure, while at the same time developing a unique oeuvre of avant-garde, couture-quality fashion with his signature collection.
 
The 74-year-old designer will be joined at the ceremony by Adrian Zecha, the legendary hotelier and founder of the world-famous Aman resorts, who will be the recipient of the Design Leadership Award of 2017.
 
Founded in 2003, the DFA Awards’ goals are to recognize the role of designers in society, to celebrate design excellence in Asia, and to identify emerging designers in Hong Kong.