"With my eyes turned to the past, I walk backwards into the future,”the enigmatic Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto said in 2011, summing up the ethos behind his long career of smashing fashion boundaries in the name of invention. From his first Tokyo collection in 1977 has restlessly sought to discover new ways of dressing the body form. Step by groundbreaking step, Yamamoto has never wavered in his pursuit of his life’s passion: achieving anti-fashion through fashion. Yamamoto’s fall 2001 runway brought an even bigger surprise: sneakers, made in collaboration with the sportswear giant Adidas. They were an instant commercial hit, and Yamamoto soon found himself appointed creative director of a new division, Adidas Sport Style, and the designer of a new label, Y-3. “It’s the first link between sport and fashion”.