A Rare Look Inside Yohji Yamamoto’s Archive

A new book is set to offer a rare glimpse inside Yohji Yamamoto’s creative process. Yohji Yamamoto Drawings, published by Thames & Hudson, will bring together 183 previously unpublished sketches selected by the designer, many of which have remained hidden for decades.

Spanning menswear and womenswear collections produced between 1981 and 1999, the drawings were discovered by Alexandre Samson in a box at a Tokyo warehouse in 2024. Originally created for Yamamoto’s pattern cutters, the works combine pencil, ink and marker across sketch paper, newspaper and found materials, with handwritten notes revealing the designer’s thinking around proportion, construction and movement.

The publication features accompanying text by Samson, Head of Collections (1947 to the present) at the Palais Galliera, while legendary graphic designer Peter Saville oversaw the book’s design, continuing a creative relationship with Yamamoto that dates back to the mid-1980s.

Set for release in the UK on the 29th October 2026, the 310-page hardback marks the first time these archival drawings have been made publicly available, offering an intimate look at one of fashion’s most influential creative minds.

Will you be purchasing? In the meantime, check out snippets below.