NY FALL 2010: Y3

Y-3: Fighting Fashion
Benjamin Le Hay for RunwayResource.net

Y-3 is always the show that the fashion crowd looks forward to for a much-needed dose of fun and frivolity. With the Park Avenue Armory packed to the brim with such notables as Ciara, Justin Theroux and Terry Richardson; the Y-3 team kicked off the presentation of their Autumn/Winter 2010-11 collection with haze and fog on the runway cut with a fantastic laser show by British art collective UVA.

Y-3 is about sportive technology infused with traditional construction complimented by Yohji Yamamoto’s futuristic genius; so the lasers were a perfect fit. For this season however, Y-3’s sportive elegance turned more too custom English tailoring — classic shapes updated with modern materials, or vice versa. Yamamoto injected a considerable amount of his routine humor into the collection by using underlying themes such as masked superheroes like Zorro and the Scarlet Pimpernel to jailbirds on the run.

At first, models paraded down the runway to revamped tunes of Simon & Garfunkel in a variety of gray and black plaid ensembles including rouched jackets with zipper accents, cowl neck warm up suits and sporty blazers; worn with awesome silver and neon patent leather wedge heels on the women and pump sneakers on the men.

The collection then segmented into traditional military garb, deconstructed in a contemporary light as Yamamoto explains, "Recently the trend has been for tighter and shorter and sexier clothes. I wanted to wrap the body again, and not show too much."

Classic A-1 flight jackets with fur collars, long dramatic capes, cashmere utility warm-ups and car coats were showcased in navy and black. This slowly progressed into jersey dresses with tier bottoms, cloaks, shawls and oversized jumpsuits — all accessorized with luxurious excessive scarves in more navy, cranberry merlot and black.

Note: a men’s nave/olive sleeveless cape with toggle, should be purchased as soon as humanly possible!

Humor resurfaced again with wool sweaters, hoodies and cardigans embellished with kitten patches and phrase like, "I'm thinking prison break" and "World is not fair."