Y-3: The Grandfather of all Collaborations

While in recent times collaborations between sportswear and high fashion outlets seem to be all over the press, with consumers spoilt for choice, this wasn't always the case. In the late 90s/early 2000s, most collaborative efforts were limited to sneakers, and were for athletes and popular culture figures, rather than fashion houses. This, however, didn't deter the formation of one of, if not, the most significant partnership of its kind, between Adidas and Yohji Yamamoto, known as Y-3.

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Y-3 Spring 2003 via Vogue

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If we take a step back to the year 2000, Yohji had been producing high-end, avant-garde garments with intricate detailing, and collection narratives to boot for many decades. While his work was successful in capturing the interest of the highest tier of fashion consumers, and his collections came with unending critical acclaim, he told I-D magazine in 2016 that he was becoming disconnected. He explained that while he considers himself a clothes maker, and the word fashion repulses him, in the early 2000s he had found himself becoming exactly what he aimed not to, a designer. He became disenfranchised and was made to feel lonely by the fact that while he had years and years of production work, he never got to see his collections on the street. His work was rarely used for its intended purpose - as clothes.

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Y-3 Three-Striped Jeans via Playful DC

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At a similar time, Yamamoto began to notice businessmen wearing athletic shoes in combination with suits to work as a way to improve the comfort and functionality of the daily commute, only to swap back to business shoes at the office. He saw this hybrid and extrapolated it into the idea of assimilating business attire and athletic wear, with the integration of the complex cuts and materials from his main line. It was an idea that was brought one step closer to reality when a relationship with adidas in 2000 was formed.

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Yohji's First Adidas Collaborative Sneaker via Vogue

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Initially, Yohji was very excited to integrate "Fashion" and sportswear and contacted Nike to investigate the possibility of a partnership. He was swiftly, but politely rejected from the brand, being told they would never do fashion. In an attempt to preview this idea on the runway, and as a nod to the popularity of the Three-Stripes in Japan at the time, Yamamoto reached out to adidas, intending only to see if he could use some sneakers for his runway show, expecting to be rejected, just like Nike did. However, to his surprise, adidas was very receptive, providing sneakers for the F/W 2001 show, and being open to the idea of a long-term partnership between the two parties to bring to life Yohji's vision.

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The First Y-3 Press Release in October, 2002 via Adidas

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While it took just over another year from the original debut of the Three Stripes in a Yohji runway to the reveal of the Y-3 line, the wait was well worth it. It fit the brief exactly, just as you would expect with work coming from Yamamoto. Although crude, the simplest way to describe it is if you put a Yohji silhouette on adidas apparel and put a sporty spin on some more subdued Yohji runway pieces. The pieces ranged from technical suiting, to Three-Striped Japanese denim, all of which were produced at a higher quality than adidas' normal offering. While it may seem less complex than his normal lines, Yamamoto exclaimed that he felt more freedom when designing for Y-3. For The Interview Magazine in 2003, he stated that for his mainline, there are boundaries and rules to follow to keep up with his motif and image. While for Y-3, it was a novel idea and aesthetic with no rules, so he felt truly free when working on the project, allowing him to push limits and alter convention.

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Y-3 Spring 2003 via Vogue

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With the 20th year being celebrated in late 2022, Y-3 has had ups and downs, with its peak popularity aligning with the adidas boom during the mid 2010s, but it has still managed to find success by continuing to provide garments which stay true to the brand ethos. With an obvious evolution into slightly more consumer friendly garments, the spine of the work still persists as it did over 20 years ago, with Yohji undoubtedly being able to see his work more and more in the street. While those who aren't entangled as deeply into fashion's history may see recent collaborative efforts with Gucci, Balenciaga, Wales Bonner among others as ground-breaking, they all have Yohji to thank for paving a way, even if it took the industry nearly two decades to catch up with his mind.