This garment was shown as part of Yohji Yamamoto’s 1996 autumn/winter collection in New York, his first showing in the city for 14 years. As the designer stated, “The back of the garment is everything, and refers not only to the image of that garment, but also applies to its structure and the cutting process” (Ryuko Tsushin, July 1996), in this garment, our eyes are drawn to the extended fabric at the back of the dress, a gap behind the garment which has been created with thick felt and bold cutting. This generous space is reminiscent of kimono culture in which emphasis is placed on the view from the back, such as the crest positioned at the nape or the draping of the fabric around the lower back. In the collections Yamamoto showed during the late 1990s, the designer continued to explore the boundary between ready-made clothing and haute couture. Yamamoto’s extensive technical knowledge when it comes to pattern making, draping and tailoring resulted in garments defined by a unique elegance that combines the form that is akin to wearable sculpture and the aesthetic of wabi-sabi.