Oct 9: Japanese fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto files for bankruptcy protection

TOKYO (AP) Japanese fashion design house Yohji Yamamoto says it has filed for bankruptcy protection. The company said its sales had been battered by sluggish demand amid the global economic slowdown with debts totaling six billion yen ($67 million). Under Japan’s corporate rehabilitation law, the designer house will continue its business at home and abroad. The company said designer Yohji Yamamoto will continue his work (source: Yahoo News).

Brand history

The label was founded in 1972 and first arrived on the international circuit in 1981. Along with Rei Kawakubo at COMME des Garçons, he spearheaded the avant-garde movement then emerging from Japan. Yamamoto created recognizable pieces with masculine shape inspired by Japanese workwear and country clothing. Most of the pieces came in black and were known for their studied simplicity hiding the complexity of the work. Yamamoto has diversified his activities by collaborating with brands such as Addidas and creating labels such as Y’S or Y-3.

Recession claimed another fashion victim

Many reasons can explain the fall of the Yamamoto’s house.

“I concentrated too hard on making clothes and left too much responsibility to higher management” the designer told a press conference in Tokyo early October (source: The Independent). Even if the strength of the yen can be blamed, it is surely not sufficient to explain a $67 million debt.

From a sales perspective, the high price tags became a handicap when the market shrank.  The recession is profitable to labels selling basic pieces with nice design, good quality and reasonable prices. The very affordable Japanese brand Uniqlo is about to make a record year. COS, the premium subsidiary launched in 2007 by H&M, seems also on track to deliver solid results with an excellent notoriety.

Marketing also contributed to the plight. A lack of diversification in some lucrative segments such as leather goods, cosmetics and fragrances contributed to the brand decline. Interesting enough, the same analysis applies to the French fashion house Christian Lacroix which is currently facing the same critical situation. It seems that after some years of existence, an international expansion requires to be funded by brand stretching as did Gucci or Dior.

Last but not least, the “Hiroshima Chic” style of Yamamoto grew old and so did his unconditional customers. His style was an intelligent alternative to the European classical design inspired by the traditional French Haute-Couture. And it perfectly matched with the global trends in design, music and architecture of the eighties: black, sharp and industrial. But times changed and this aesthetics passed away

As many other designers, Yamamoto’s focus on clothing is noble and respectable but fashion is also a business and profitability is not an option.

Yvon Le Gall
Luxury-world

http://www.yohjiyamamoto.co.jp/