Over two decades into their partnership, a new era is underway for adidas and Yohji Yamamoto's Y-3 label.
The two have set out to bring fresh energy to the brand through its Y-3 atelier, which was followed by a new footwear model that can be dismantled into five pieces and has an interchangeable midsole.
Thanks to those recent developments, this is the most excited I've been about Y-3 since the days that QASA HIGHs were my ultimate sneaker grail — a shoe that the brand recently brought back.
Now looking through the second chapter of its spring/summer '23 collection, my excitement is more than justified.
The label's newest selection is themed around "technical effortlessness'' and presented through a lookbook of sheer beauty. Created in collaboration with Takashi Homma, it takes inspiration from the artist’s ‘New Waves’ body of work with models shot against a coastal landscape as the sun sets.
But beyond the near-breathtaking campaign imagery, this chapter of the collection sees the brand deploy typically functional design details on a selection of outdoor-ready pieces, elevated through Yamamoto's avant-garde lense.
Sticking predominantly to its signature color palette of black, white, and grey, this results in everything from a blazer and cardigan to tracksuits. These pieces then disguise their technical know-how through asymmetric cuts or monochrome color schemes.
Arriving alongside the clothing is new sneakers, something the Y-3 label has come to specialize in. Alongside the aforementioned ITOGO, which has no glue so that it can be easily dismantled, there is also the TERREX SWIFT R3 GTX.
Joining together with adidas' outdoor-focused TERREX subline, the sneaker comes with a waterproof GORE-TEX membrane, Continental™ Rubber outsole, and a zip-up fastening for a design that can more than handle itself on a mountain trail.
But the minimal design does a good job of hiding just how technical these sneakers are — as is the story for the rest of the collection.
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