July 7, 2005

"I love the American old times," said Yohji Yamamoto after his show. "It was a good moment for the American people." That made one momentarily wonder whether there might be a political subtext to Yohji's sepia-toned paean to baseball's bygone days. But what mostly came across was a nostalgic tone so un-ironic, a thank-you to Ken Burns wouldn't have been out of order. In fact, Casey himself would have been perfectly happy to wear these outfits to the bat, though he might have frowned at the proportions. When Yohji hung bloomers off a pair of suspenders, they looked like clown pants.

Away from the diamond, the designer continued with his experiments in cutting, this time showing jackets whose seams zipped open to create different configurations, cutaways being the most obvious. But so much was overly familiar about the clothes (the fabrics and the oversized silhouettes being just the start) that one was left musing on where Yohji fits into the contemporary landscape, especially when his inspiration was anything but. "When I touch it, everything becomes modern," he said gnomically. Maybe.

— Tim Blanks