NOWNESS: Y-3 Interviews with Yohji Yamamoto & Zinedine Zidane

NOWNESS recently interviewed Y-3 creative head Yohji Yamamoto and long-time adidas and Y-3 endorsed athlete Zinedine Zidane as a pre-cursor to the unveiling of a new Yamamoto documentary. The documentary focuses on Yamamoto in a run-up to his 2010 fall/winter showing. Y-3 has come to represent one of the greatest examples of fashion meets sportswear through the proper appropriation of footwear and apparel. A selection of answers are seen below, while the full interview can be seen here alongside the documentary’s trailer.

Yohji Yamamoto

How would you describe Y-3 as a collaborative project?
Distant DNA got married and had a successful baby. You have to [treat] Y-3 [like it is] an independent human. In that way the brand already has its own character.

How does the collaborative process between you and Adidas work?
Adidas is a very personal inspiration to me. It has enriched my creative life. Both teams are in constant contact and communicate continuously. There are many meetings to develop the collection together. It’s an important exchange between different cultures and different ideas.

Do your catwalk collections inspire Y3, and vice versa?
Both sides are a totally free and creative process, the two worlds are parallel.

Zinedine Zidane

You’ve been with Adidas for most of your career. What appealed to you about Y-3?
It’s a natural extension, as I’d worn Adidas on the pitch for performance for so many years. Adidas had this genius and subtle idea of bringing sports into fashion with Y-3, and they managed this fusion perfectly.

You took to the catwalk for Y-3’s SS10 collection––how was that?
It was a special moment because on this same day I was able to meet Yohji Yamamoto. I’d never done anything like that before in the past. For me it was something completely new but exciting.

Have you kept any memorabilia or jerseys from your footballing days?
I gave a lot away but I kept some key ones. I still have my jersey from the 1998 World Cup final with Brazil, and the gold and white Predators [Adidas football boots] I was wearing at the 2006 World Cup that were created specially for me. If I’d listened to my friends I would have nothing left!

What is your average day like now that you’ve finished playing professionally?
Everyday I’m training a little and that’s why I wear Y-3. I want to be fit for life.