“Letter to the Future” Showcases Archival Pieces and Reflects on Fashion’s Evolution
From May 16 to July 31, the 10 Corso Como Gallery hosts “Yohji Yamamoto: Letter to the Future,” an exhibition featuring 25 garments that represent a forward-looking message through fashion. Curated by Alessio de’ Navasques, the exhibition showcases archival pieces from Yohji Yamamoto’s collections spanning from 1986 to 2024. This exhibition marks a significant chapter in the gallery’s cultural program, as envisioned by Tiziana Fausti. It is a collaboration between 10 Corso Como and Yohji Yamamoto, focusing on fashion as an intersection of aesthetics and process, presented as a single installation.
After major retrospectives like the one at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London in 2011, it is an honor to have the unique opportunity to host a project by Yohji Yamamoto that is forward-looking, vibrant on the contemporary, dedicated to the younger generation. Yohji Yamamoto returns to Italy after almost two decades and it is significant for us that he is in Milan and precisely in 10 Corso Como, where he was one of the seminal authors in defining its avant-garde and research identity.
Tiziana Fausti
The exhibition displays Yamamoto’s garments on tailoring busts, akin to how they were created in the atelier. Visitors can experience a dialogue between the designer’s reflections on the future, written on the walls, and the selected archival pieces. These garments, enriched by time, exemplify Yamamoto’s unique vision that blurs the lines between past, present, and future.
Highlighted pieces include the iconic faux-cul red silk coat from Winter 1986-87, featured in Nick Knight’s photographs under Marc Ascoli’s artistic direction, and a grey wool coat from the Winter 2023-24 collection. The exhibition also presents pieces from the Autumn/Winter 1996-97 collection, where felt becomes origami, and the Spring 1999 performance show, where models shed layers to reveal the essence of form.
It has been an honor for me to work with one of the most extraordinary creators that fashion can boast. Yohji Yamamoto combines a sense of Zen spirituality with the carnal and dramatic power of form. From his arrival in Paris in the early eighties to today, his message is still vital and very powerful.
Alessio de’ Navasques, curator of “Yohji Yamamoto: Letter to the Future”
“Yohji Yamamoto: Letter to the Future” reflects the designer’s continuous exploration of universal silhouettes and the relationship between body and garment. His work emphasizes imperfection, experimentation with volumes and fabrics, and a message of timeless freedom.
The exhibition is part of 10 Corso Como’s innovative cultural program, a place of dialogue between different arts and a meeting point for new experiences. This special exhibition brings Yamamoto’s visionary work to Italy, highlighting his impact on the fashion world.
