Louis Vuitton × Kansai Yamamoto Neverfull MM with kabuki faces and daruma dolls

Kansai Yamamoto: Basara, Bowie and the Louis Vuitton Cruise 2018 Collection

Kansai Yamamoto (1944–2020) is the Japanese designer people recognise before they know his name: the face-paint, the sequins, the sleeves cut like wings, the knitted bodysuit that David Bowie wore as Aladdin Sane. He called his taste basara, a word from the warring-states period for dazzling, defiant extravagance, and he applied it to everything he made. For a generation of Japanese clothing it was the opposite pole to the black minimalism of Comme des Garçons and Yohji Yamamoto, and the argument between the two is one of the main stories in Japanese Designer Archives.

The designer

Born in Yokohama, Yamamoto trained as an engineer before turning to clothes, and in 1971 became the first Japanese designer to show in London. Bowie bought his pieces for the Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane tours and wore them on stage; the collaboration made Kansai Yamamoto internationally known before the Paris Japanese wave of the 1980s. At home he built a business that ran from couture to knitwear to the labels that carry his name in the pieces below, and he produced stage spectacle and a rich archive of illustrations of kabuki, tigers, waves and the sun. He designed to the end of his life.

The labels

  • Kansai Yamamoto and Kansai Yamamoto Homme: the main lines, with hand-painted and embroidered pieces. The tiger-painted knickerbockers in our archive are one.
  • Kansai O2: the 1990s younger line of art knitwear, hooded jackets and colour-block cardigans, with face motifs in yellow, purple, red and navy.
  • Kansai International and Kansai Profumo: the 1980s patchwork jumpers and shirts in geometric colour, made for the international market of the decade.

Labels changed with each line, which helps date a piece. Early woven labels, a made-in-Japan mark and an unfaded dye are the first checks.

Louis Vuitton Cruise 2018

In May 2017 Louis Vuitton showed its Cruise 2018 collection at the Miho Museum in Shiga, and Nicolas Ghesquière invited Kansai Yamamoto's studio to put his archive on the house's canvas. The result mixed the Monogram with kabuki faces, daruma dolls and the Kansai eye motif, printed or embroidered across bags, wallets, cases, scarves and a sequinned leather biker jacket.

  • Neverfull MM Kabuki and Daruma: a Monogram tote with a diagonal band of printed masks and daruma dolls and a red interior, supplied with a matching pouch.
  • Portefeuille Chain M67256: a chain wallet whose black flap carries a wide-eyed kabuki face.
  • Zippy M67249 and M67250, Victorine M67253: the wallets, in kabuki and daruma versions.
  • Eye Trunk iPhone 7 Plus case M67259 and Miroir Nomade GI0235: the small accessories, among the most affordable ways in.
  • Bandana MP1948 and Bandeau BB MP1942: the cotton and silk scarves, boxed.
  • The kabuki biker jacket: the sequinned leather rider, the collection's single largest piece.

What to look for

  • Reference numbers. The M672xx numbers identify each small piece; match them to the stamp inside.
  • Printing. Kabuki faces should be crisp at the edges; cracking on a printed flap is the usual wear.
  • Boxes and pouches. The scarves and the case are collected with their packaging.
  • Sequins. On the biker, count rows against the photographs; missing sequins cannot be matched.

Why Japan

The collection was staged in Japan, shown to Japanese clients first and bought by collectors who knew Yamamoto's name from the 1980s. Pieces are kept with their pouches and boxes, and the wallets and cases are often unused. Japanese condition grades are explained in Japanese condition ranks, and the Louis Vuitton side of the story sits in The Atlas: Collaborations and Runway.

In the archive now

Continue reading

After a particular Kansai reference or season? Our Hunting Salon™ searches across Japan's private collector circles on your behalf.

Index terms: kansai yamamoto · louis vuitton kansai yamamoto · louis vuitton cruise 2018 · lv kabuki neverfull · lv daruma wallet · m67256 · kansai o2 · kansai yamamoto bowie · kansai yamamoto vintage · basara fashion

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