Sunday 4th August: BLOG TAKEOVER - Y-3 I Love Thee: Y-3 Turns 10 and Opens New Covent Garden Store.

Sports Luxe is a term that, over the past ten years, has planted itself firmly within fashion's central vocabulary, and it's no coincidence that this year marks the 10th Birthday of Adidas’s Y-3; a brand that has consistently played an essential role in the haute sport fashion revolution.

As Covent Garden’s Floral Street welcomes the label's 2^nd London branch (along with the arrival of a new collection) the brand continues to push sportswear further into the fashion realm than ever before, infiltrating the industry by incorporating cutting edge sports garment technology into the fashion forward designs of creative mastermind, Yohji Yamamoto.

Yamamoto takes this idea of going beyond the functionality of sportswear even further, creating a somewhat theatrical fashion-sports- fusion spectacle. And this effect is not only seen in Yamamoto’s diverse designs, but in every aspect of the Y-3 aesthetic, from their campaigns and their catwalks, to their in-store merchandising; the new Covent Garden store, which is housed within a Grade II listed building, features futuristic Erco developed tailored lighting and 360 view mirrored walls.

Y-3’s accomplished brand identity has not only achieved and sustained a viable concept, but the brand still succeeds in remaining true to itself and its urban ties as it continues to move forwards. The latest campaign features an ingenious interactive fashion film that is controlled through a computer keyboard; in a system that works in a similar way to that of an electronic midi keyboard as used by music producers, it allows the viewer to ‘compose’ their own version of the film. This is done using number and letter keys to rearrange the the order and tempo of the visuals and soundtrack; almost as if the viewer is remixing the collection. Which is what, in theory, we as consumers actually do; we see a collection, we buy pieces, we team them with other pieces, we give them alternative accompaniments. It’s the same piece, but different, like a remix. It is precisely this kind of creative mentality that keeps Y-3 at the forefront of fashion sportswear innovation, and connects the fashion of today to the fashion of the future.

Y-3 is at 12 Floral Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 9DH and is open now.

Words and pictures by Amy Lee