‘Do 50 press-ups and a daily meditation’ – the 10 wisdoms of Yohji Yamamoto

Yohji Yamamoto’s half-century in fashion has seen him redefine the fabric of his art. His Paris debut, in 1981, with Rei Kawakubo, deconstructed prevailing notions of western femininity. His subsequent, increasingly introspective collections have broken ground in the relationship between garment and body. A gifted musician, his shows are often accompanied by his own musical scores, and sometimes performances. 

In his cloistered attic office above the Paris headquarters, days after the presentation and just before his 81st birthday, Yohji-san described the tenets of his philosophy. Curious and contemplative, with a wicked wit, the designer traced the contours of his creative life, whether it’s doing push-ups, walking the dog or reflecting on nature.

1. Seek renewal

Every time I begin a collection, I say to myself, “You have to make something new, different from last time.” I think that way every time, which can be heavy. I respect the designers that have the mental power to be consistent, but this is my tendency. Designing is, to put it very simply, an obligation. The day before my SS25 women’s show, I asked myself how many collections I could continue to do. One? Two? But at night, once it was over and I came back to my hotel bed, I started to think, “Oh, I can keep going.” New challenges give me power, an active spirit. 

2. Need an idea? Go driving

Creativity comes in many situations. Sometimes I wonder if someone is pushing me, giving me this inspiration. Who? I don’t know. These days, I feel it most when I’m driving a car, which is very strange. When the signal becomes red, you have to stop, people walk by. And I find – “Wow!” – inspiration comes. 

I thought I’d be a musician or painter, never a fashion designer

3. Keep moving

Recently I started doing press-ups every day. On the first day, I could do only 20, but recently, I did more than 50. I’ve always done a lot of sports – judo and karate. So, in the street, if I get too angry, I can kick people! When I was 45, I returned to martial arts for the first time since I was a young boy. I studied karate for 13 years and took a black belt. Before we begin, we sit in Japanese style and meditate for about five minutes, because simply practising karate is dangerous. If the hand hits the weakest part of the human body, [one] can kill. 

4. Meditate on small gestures

Today, my meditation happens when my son visits me in Tokyo and we walk the dog together. It’s my happiest moment. I wake up naturally at five in the morning and wait for my son who wakes up at six. Then we walk for one hour. There’s the push and pull of the lead in my hand. As my dog leads, I follow. In that moment, I meditate.

5. Detours can define you

I thought I’d like to be a musician or a painter, never a fashion designer. My mother had opened a very tiny dressmaking salon and started working to provide for me, to ensure I ate. We were very poor. I began helping my mother after graduating from fashion school and after four or five years, my mother finally told me, “Yohji, you can take over, and you can take my place.”

6. Don’t disturb the eye

When I started feeling that I wanted to make ready-to-wear, I wanted to have women wear men’s outfits. I stopped using flowery colours, which disturbed people’s eyes, and started using black, navy blue and dark brown. For myself, I used to wear black too, so as not to disturb people and finally, black became fashion – I hated it! But I use black because it doesn’t bother people’s eyes. That’s it. I’ve no other reason.

7. Picasso was right

He was very envious of the way children draw: it is not very well done, not perfect. Sometimes an animal looks like a human being, a human being looks like a cat. For SS25, I was inspired by the way that Picasso spent 40 years learning to draw like a kid – his greatest lesson. I felt the same. If kids made fashion, what would happen? 

8. There’s power in nature

In Japan we have the Shinto religion, the oldest in our country, which connects us to nature. I have travelled all around the world, mostly walking around, looking at landscapes, rocky sceneries and plants and flowers. Nature is incredibly strong. I have said to myself that I will never be able to design such beauty. It is impossible, more than beautiful.

9. Buddhism helps...

I used to listen to Buddhists who talk about how you can be quiet by learning Buddhism. I used to listen to it carefully. But finally, I couldn’t become quiet! I have been telling myself for many years, “I have to study Buddhism ‘properly’.” But what does “properly” mean? Recently, I began studying it again, deeply. Perhaps it was the loss of my closest friend, the Japanese writer Seigō Matsuoka [in August 2024], who taught me so much about Buddhism. The world today is very dangerous. I am in pain with what is happening. Buddhism teaches us how to avoid wars as much as possible. A lot of people are coming to Japan now, not only because the yen rate is cheap! They are finding something else there. Maybe it’s spirituality?

10. ...but I don’t have the answers, yet

It’s people’s duty to live by learning something. If people think they have learned enough then they’re dead. So, I’m still learning: “What is life?”