Yohji Files For Bankruptcy Protection, Finds Investor

[SHYE_POSER]

Do not know if this has been mentioned yet,but i have heard that addidas have come to the rescue and shall be the main shareholders.
Apparently they are resolving various issues in the rigorous and systematic way only the germans can.

[Faust]

/\ That was the initial rumor. But now I don't understand. I thought all they did was broker the deal between Yohji and the new Japanese investors?

[mizzar]

Integral is now backin YY
here is link http://integ625.rsjp.net/file.php?id=1255063769

[Fade to Black]

I can see Yohji turning into something like what the Helmut Lang brand name has become.

Not so much the others mentioned in your post above, Hamer Horror. At the end of the day the distinct look offered by YY's signature design isn't one of as mass of an appeal.

As for CdG it's all those collaborations, streetwear hype generated events and various recognizable branded paraphernalia that's keeping the business strong, I feel. I can't possibly fathom the main line being much of a draw other than as an image leader. When I was in the various CdG outlets I was surrounded by more boiled polyester and shetland wool than I would have liked to hang around for more than a little while.

[DesignGuy]

I read about how their focusing on better distribution and routes to market, but does Yohji really have wide international appeal? Moreover, has the brand been compromised? I've wondered how well Yohji travels outside Japan as the immediate impression I get like with Issey is Yohji… well it all seems very much like an avant garde brand of the 90's, interesting cuts… often well structured, though not necessarily flattering… although intrinsically Japanese, seasonally… more incremental than revolutionary.

Secondly, has the association of Y's and Y3 diluted Yohji as a high-end premium brand? Y's does seem like a watered-down almost budget Yohji Homme, though marketers often emphasize the importance of share over premium so segmenting by income is understandable. CdG did the same with Homme, however what I find interesting about Shirt, it's segmented by an intrinsically cheaper product category, without the compromise of quality or artistic integrity, which I think is status affirming; I don't think Yohji has an equivalent that contributes in quite the same way. Its most prominent collab Y3 though commercially successful as a premium sportswear brand, you cannot really escape the fact Y3 products have proliferated into the mainstream and is also overly reliant on logo-mongering —usually both forms consumerism don't sit easily alongside the nuanced judgments of fashionista.

[Seventh]

I don't think Yohji's problem was that his brand got watered down or compromised. Y's was always designed to be distinctly different - a different cut from the Homme line, a slightly younger aesthetic, and (until the last couple years) just as high quality. It certainly was not a compromise in anyway to quality or artistic integrity.
(I don't think I would say the same about CDG Shirt, actually).

Y-3 was an entirely different (successful) animal with Adidas. I think a fair # of people who bought Y-3 were blissfully unaware of who Yohji was actually.

I think comparing Yohji to Rei is about as useful as comparing Margiela to Dries (the backgrounds might be similar, but the paths are very different), and does both a disservice.

I am very sad that Yohji is designing less and less, but he has had one hell of a run, and perhaps this was the easiest way for him to wind down things?

I read about how their focusing on better distribution and routes to market, but does Yohji really have wide international appeal? Moreover, has the brand been compromised? I've wondered how well Yohji travels outside Japan as the immediate impression I get like with Issey is Yohji… well it all seems very much like an avant garde brand of the 90's, interesting cuts… often well structured, though not necessarily flattering… although intrinsically Japanese, seasonally… more incremental than revolutionary.

Secondly, has the association of Y's and Y3 diluted Yohji as a high-end premium brand? Y's does seem like a watered-down almost budget Yohji Homme, though marketers often emphasize the importance of share over premium so segmenting by income is understandable. CdG did the same with Homme, however what I find interesting about Shirt, it's segmented by an intrinsically cheaper product category, without the compromise of quality or artistic integrity, which I think is status affirming; I don't think Yohji has an equivalent that contributes in quite the same way. Its most prominent collab Y3 though commercially successful as a premium sportswear brand, you cannot really escape the fact Y3 products have proliferated into the mainstream and is also overly reliant on logo-mongering —usually both forms consumerism don't sit easily alongside the nuanced judgments of fashionista.

[Faust]

I don't think Yohji's problem was that his brand got watered down or compromised. Y's was always designed to be distinctly different - a different cut from the Homme line, a slightly younger aesthetic, and (until the last couple years) just as high quality. It certainly was not a compromise in anyway to quality or artistic integrity. Y-3 was an entirely different (successful) animal with Adidas.

I think comparing Yohji to Rei is about as useful as comparing Margiela to Dries (the backgrounds might be similar, but the paths are very different), and does both a disservice.

I am very sad that Yohji is designing less and less, but he has had one hell of a run, and perhaps this was the easiest way for him to wind down things?

True. Margiela never had sex with Dries (to my knowledge).

[Seventh]

True. Margiela never had sex with Dries (to my knowledge).

Maybe Dries did, he just didn't recognize Margiela...

[Faust]

Maybe Dries did, he just didn't recognize Margiela...

fantastic!

[Buckwheat]

Yohji doesn't have the sex appeal that people want

[coccodrillo]

For me Yohji's design æsthetic is truly beautiful - one of my favorites and it still remains alluring BUT - the skyrocketing prices over the past few years have been extremely off-putting.

[Faust]

Yohji doesn't have the sex appeal that people want

Neither does Rei Warhol, but she seems to be doing fine.

[reborn]

I thought production costs were driving the high price points in the Yohji collections? And production costs (CDG has a long term agreements with several mfgs to produce their clothing and accessories) were also keeping CDG prices steady.

[Fade to Black]

yohji's production methods and costs might be one thing driving the off putting price points, but regardless the standard he's kept to his main lines for all these years up till the last couple is on a level that would be absurd to anyone looking to turn a profit.

[mesh]

I think all this talk of skyrocketing production costs is rubbish, how much does it really cost to produce high quality clothing? I have no doubts they may increase given certain variables but in no way is "skyrocketing" justified.