A remarkable new publication sheds fresh light on the creative universe of Yohji Yamamoto. Published by Thames & Hudson on October 29th, 2026, Yohji Yamamoto Drawings, written by fashion historian Alexandre Samson, gathers 183 previously unpublished sketches personally selected by the Japanese designer, offering a rare look inside one of fashion’s most influential minds.
This 320-page hardcover spans nearly two decades of Yamamoto’s menswear and womenswear collections, created between 1981 and 1999. Discovered by Samson in a Tokyo warehouse in 2024, the drawings emerged from the designer’s atelier archive, where they had long served as working documents. Executed in pencil, ink, and marker on sketch paper, newspaper, and paper fragments, many are accompanied by handwritten notes directing pattern makers on proportion, construction, movement, and silhouette.
Yohji Yamamoto’s designs reveal the origins of an iconic visual language
These sketches are far more than preparatory studies—they capture the instinctive visual language behind Yohji Yamamoto’s most recognisable designs. Sculptural coats, fluid tailoring, dramatic lapels, elegant dresses, and expressive figures appear alongside lyrical studies that blur the boundary between fashion illustration and fine art. Raw and immediate, the drawings expose the ideas taking shape long before they reached the runway.
Available in Europe from October 29th, 2026, ahead of its U.S. release on November 17th, Yohji Yamamoto Drawings is an indispensable addition for anyone fascinated by fashion history, design archives, and the creative process behind an extraordinary career.
Discover Yohji Yamamoto’s reflections on beauty, danger, and the unseen life of garments in our intimate conversation.
Courtesy of YOHJI YAMAMOTO
