Must Read: Yohji Yamamoto Profiled by 'The Washington Post', How the Beauty Industry Prepares for the Holidays

These are the stories making headlines in fashion on Friday.

Yohji Yamamoto profiled by The Washington Post
Fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto is now 80 years old, but that hasn’t stopped him from chainsmoking, gambling and constantly elevating his designs. Yamamoto, or Yohji-san as he prefers to be called, opened a shop on New York City’s Wooster Street this fall, and celebrated its opening on Wednesday with many attendees donning the designer’s all-black aesthetic. Yohji-san wants to make things more difficult for himself each season, as he finds made-to-order more compelling than ready-to-wear and wants to experiment with a garment’s tailoring to stretch its limits. Yohji-san talks about the late Azzedine Alaïa, his closest competitor and friend in fashion, his early career and his vision of beauty. “My purpose, my dream of creating, is very high. Too high. I never arrive (at it). That’s the reason I can continue. If I feel I have arrived, maybe I would die,” he told Washington Post writer Rachel Tashjian. {The Washington Post/paywalled}

How the beauty industry prepares for the holidays
Although many consumers start thinking about the holidays in early November, the beauty industry is always thinking about the holidays and their dedicated product offerings. Melissa McGinnis oversees the beauty category at the British retailer Selfridges said that her team began working on the 2023 beauty gifts lineup around this time last year. The holiday season makes up a large percentage of retailers’ annual sales, and advent calendars, which are a major holiday gift, are planned far in advance mainly due to the sheer number of products included. Consumers are also looking for advent calendars and holiday bundles with value and new offerings. “Where brands and retailers don’t evolve the design or the product inclusions, you’ll see customers say, ‘It’s too similar to last year’s,'” McGinnis told The New York Times. “They really are looking for something that’s going to surprise them.” {The New York Times/paywalled}

How Black culture bolstered Timberland
As hip hop and the original Timberland boot turn 50, writer Shelby Ivey Christie is examining the footwear brand’s impact on Black subculture for Indie. Timberland boots rose to hip-hop fame in the 1980s and ’90s with musicians such as Big Daddy Kane sporting the style. Timberlands became synonymous with cool, which contributed to the brand’s sales jumping from $48 million in 1983 to $138 million just five years later. Christie writes, “Afros and raised fists were replaced by new symbols of resistance — rap music became the battle cry; baggy jeans and Timbs its new uniform.” Everyone from 2Pac to Wu-Tang Clan wore the famous boots, and once Aaliyah wore the shoes at the Lady Soul Train Awards in 1995, Timberlands became a womenswear staple as well. “Timbs will forever be a part of Black dress culture because we own those moments of coppin’ a fresh pair,” Jonathan McClean, co-founder of southern streetwear brand The Clean Slate, told Indie. {Indie Magazine}

Want the latest fashion industry news first? Sign up for our daily newsletter.