#NYFW 2012: Y3 Adidas Runway Show

This was my fourth season attending Y3′s runway show during NY Fashion week and this season did not dissapoint. The show was literally a magic carpet ride with the runway layered in Persian rugs setting the stage for a collection that took its inspiration from all over the world.

“We wanted to have this very visible element of Yohji Yamamoto in Y-3,” said creative director Dirk Schönberger backstage after the show. “And as we know, Mr. Yamamoto is always about a journey.” The collection featured pieces with African, Japanese and Parisian influences.

This, of course, was slightly different. The models featured seemed more like an eclectically bundled-up band of travelers, working the kaffiyeh scarves, Peruvian knits, Central Asian ikat trims on the catwalk. There were elements of animal print found in both the mens and womens collections as well.

For womenswear, early on in the show you saw Yohji-isms like a leather jacket with a shaped hourglass waist, and for men, the folded Japanese fisherman’s pants. But overall, the pieces skewed more functional than poetic. Not that the two elements didn’t coexist here. The two blended effortlessly creating a buzz throughout the crowd.

Many of these pieces had the most straightforward and immediate appeal I’ve seen yet at a Y-3 show. Lots of editors could be heard raving about the outerwear. In fact, worn in combination with the naturalistically constructed getups, the parkas were exactly what many of the fashion insiders, heading to their heading to their next show on this typically cold February afternoon, would want to wear. Check out images from the show below and let us know your thoughts on the collection.