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Kansai YamamotoJapanese designer
Date of Birth: 08.02.1944
Country:  Japan |
Content:
Early Life and Career
Kansai Yamamoto, the influential Japanese fashion designer, was born in 1944 in Yokohama, Japan. As a high school student, he initially pursued civil engineering and studied English at Nihon University. However, in 1965, he abandoned his studies to focus solely on fashion. Yamamoto apprenticed under designers Junko Koshino and Hisashi Hosono, educating himself in the art of fashion. In 1967, he was awarded the Soen Award from Bunka Fashion College.
Avant-Garde Aesthetic
Yamamoto's work exhibited an aesthetic often described as "wild maximalism." Defined by "transgressive excess," it stood in stark contrast to the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi. In 1971, he established his own company, Yamamoto Kansai Company, Ltd., in Tokyo. His first collection debuted later that year in London and the United States at Hess's department store in Allentown, Pennsylvania, which was known for showcasing cutting-edge collections. Yamamoto became the first Japanese designer to stage a London show.
David Bowie Collaboration
Kansai Yamamoto gained international fame for designing the androgynous and futuristic stage costumes for David Bowie, notably for his Ziggy Stardust Tour. His 1975 debut in Paris was followed by the opening of his Kansai boutique in 1977. The same year, he received the Tokyo Fashion Editors Award.
Super Shows
In the early 1990s, after two decades of showing and selling his avant-garde collections in London, Paris, and New York, Yamamoto took a hiatus from fashion to focus on producing events, specifically those he termed "Super Shows." These spectacles combined music, dance, acrobatics, traditional Japanese festivals, and other entertainment elements and were staged worldwide. The first such event, held in Moscow's Red Square in 1993, drew an impressive 120,000 spectators.
Later Career
In 1999, Yamamoto collaborated with Junko Koshino on a modern version of the kimono, rekindling interest in this classic garment. He also became renowned for his avant-garde kimono designs, including those worn by Bowie. In 2008, an exhibition titled "Netsuki Shinten: Kansai Genki Shugi" (or "Passionate Exhibition: Kansai's Energy Principle") was held at the Edo-Tokyo Museum. In 2009, a major retrospective of Yamamoto's work was exhibited at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Yamamoto designed the Skyliner train, which connects Narita Airport to central Tokyo, introduced in 2010. In 2013, he made a brief fashion industry comeback at the 19th New Britain Mask Festival in Kokopo, Papua New Guinea. He also staged a small fashion show in Tokyo and a series of performance-based fashion events at the Victoria and Albert Museum. In 2018, Yamamoto and Louis Vuitton collaborated on a collection featuring classic Japanese art, Kabuki-inspired patterns, and prints for the LV Resort 2018 collection.
Legacy
Tragically, Kansai Yamamoto passed away on July 21, 2020, after battling acute myeloid leukemia since March 2020. His daughter, actress Mirai Yamamoto, announced his passing through her Instagram account, which was later confirmed by Kansai's own official account. Yamamoto's legacy as an innovative and influential fashion designer continues to inspire and captivate audiences worldwide.
