“To this day I am filled with gratitude to Kansai for seeing in me a special spark, and, giving me the wings I needed to fly,” wrote Marc Jacobs, paying tribute to the legendary designer Kansai Yamamoto on Instagram this morning. Kansai—as he preferred to be called to avoid confusion with another fashion-famous Yamamoto—died this month at age 76. Tributes have abounded on social media, from the likes of Jeremy Scott and Anna Sui.
The Yokohama-born designer was best known for the costumes he made for David Bowie, but he made waves on the runways, too. In 1971, he was one of the first Japanese designers to show in Europe, bringing his collection to London Fashion Week in flashes of color, print, and glamour, and subsequently paving the way for the Japanese designers that would follow him. Decades later his influence still looms large. In 2017, Nicolas Ghesquière designed an entire collection in homage to Yamamoto, but there have been plenty of other tributes on the catwalk. Here, a look back at a select few.
Rick Owens fall 2020 menswear
“This collection is very Kansai/Beuys,” wrote Rick Owens in the press release for his fall 2020 menswear collection. Dubbed Performa, the collection touched on the attenuated silhouettes of ’70s male glamazons like David Bowie, paying tribute to Kansai Yamamoto’s work in a look that combined Bowie’s striped Tokyo Pop jumpsuit with the one-legged knit he wore in 1973.
Louis Vuitton resort 2018
“I’ve bought many of his clothes at auction,” said Nicolas Ghesquière of Kansai at Louis Vuitton’s resort 2018 show in Kyoto. The entire collection was a referential tribute to Ghesquière’s Japanese fashion forebears, with Yamamoto receiving top billing as his graphics were interpreted on sequin dresses and petite malle bags. Kansai himself sat front row. “Amazing,” he said of the show.
Gucci spring 2018
Elton John might have been the name in lights at Alessandro Michele’s spring 2018 Gucci collection, with the musician’s stagewear transformed into near-replicas, but Kansai Yamamoto’s exuberance is woven throughout this and many other of Michele’s collections. Kansai’s love of animal prints and clashing graphics were touched on in this look—though it’s worth noting that he also designed a number of John’s costumes too.