HOW TO IDENTIFY YOHJI YAMAMOTO
Yohji Yamamoto is a fashion designer hailed as an avant-garde master tailor. His eponymous label began in Japan – where Yamamoto was born — and has been headquartered in Paris since 1981.
With such an extensive body of work spanning over five decades, how do you identify Yohji Yamamoto clothing?
YOHJI YAMAMOTO SERIAL NUMBERS
Yohji Yamamoto serial numbers and product codes can provide us with integral information about a piece. Identifying what a garment is – and the year and season of its release – equips sellers with the knowledge for accurate pricing. It also helps consumers when authenticating real vs fake Yohji Yamamoto items, allowing them to match their pieces to runway imagery.
HOW TO READ YOHJI YAMOMOTO PRODUCT CODES
Yohji Yamamoto product codes begin with two letters delineating the line and year of production. M for Y’s Mens and H for Yohji Yamamoto Pour Homme are the most common menswear codes. F for Yohji Yamamoto Womens is the most common womenswear code. The second letter of the product code points to the year and season of release...
HOW TO IDENTIFY THE YEAR AND SEASON FOR YOHJI YAMAMOTO
The year and season of Yohji Yamamoto pieces can be deduced from the product code found on the care labels in conjunction with the typeface, colour and design of the neck tags and size labels. The second letter of Yohji Yamamoto product codes narrows the year and season to a few possibilities. If the second letter is B for example, the garment could belong to SS95, SS00, AW06 or SS12. A full list of product codes will now follow:
B - SS95, SS00, AW06, SS12
C - SS99, AW10, AW19
D - AW12, SS17
E - AW95, SS02, AW08
F - SS96, AW14
G - AW96, SS14
H - SS19
I - AW97
J - SS98, AW04, SS10
K - AW17
M - AW02, SS08
N - AW99, AW05, SS20
O - SS93, SS11, SS16
P - AW93, AW11
Q - SS03, AW13
R - SS06, AW16, AW20
S - AW92
T - SS94, AW00, SS07
U - SS97, AW03, SS15
V - AW94, AW01, SS09, AW18
W - SS18
X - SS01, AW07, SS13
Y - AW98, SS05, AW15
Z - SS04, AW09
The size labels can further narrow down the year and season.
From SS1995 - AW1999, Yohji Yamamoto sizes were written in letter form (S/M/L etc.) on the size label.
From SS2000 onwards, the Japanese number labelling system was employed (00,0,1,2,3,4 etc.) So a garment with the letter code ‘F’ in a size ‘M’ would belong to SS96 ( Spring Summer 1996).
The details on the care labels were written in a serif font up until AW09 (Autumn Winter 2009). From SS10 onwards sans serif was used. This can also help to narrow the year and season.
A Yohji Yamamoto garment with the letter code ‘J’ in a size ‘3’ with a serif font for the care label details would belong to AW04, and one with a sans serif would belong to SS10. If the size label displayed an ‘L’ instead it would belong to SS98.
If you’re still unable to determine the year and season, refer to runway imagery.
HOW TO IDENTIFY YOHJI YAMAMOTO LINES
The Yohji Yamamoto brand features an array of sublines and diffusion lines spanning from 1972 to the present – collaborative lines too. Whilst they differ stylistically and in price, they share the same sensibility, and Yamomoto's mastery of tailoring and the colour black. Here are some of the most common.
- Y’s Women Ready-to-wear, 1972.
- Y’s For Men.
- Y’s For Men SHIRT.
- Y’s For Men Red Label. This diffusion line was launched in 2006 in collaboration with Michiko Suzuki, but has since been discontinued.
- Yohji Yamamoto Womens Mainline, 1981.
- Yohji Yamomoto Pour Homme 1984 AW1994/95. Famously worn by David Bowie.
- Y-3, Yohji Yamomoto & Adidas. Founded in 2002 fusing high fashion, streetwear and sportswear.
- Yohji Yamamoto Y, 2005. A diffusion line which focused on suiting for the Italian marketplace. It has since been discontinued.
- S’YTE, 2011.
WHERE TO BUY YOHJI YAMAMOTO
Truss Archive showcases the world's leading resale stores in one place - 100s of the most iconic Yohji Yamamoto items are currently available.
Download the app here.