The below recount appeared inside A#2 curated by Yohji Yamamoto (2005).
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‘A black velvet hat’ by Irène Silvagni
It was a dark and rainy January day in Paris during the Men’s Fashion shows.
I was invited to Comme des Garçons and decided to shadow my face by wearing a black velvet hat.
I was sitting near to my dear friend ‘little big man’ Azzedine Alaia and we started to laugh and chat while waiting for the show to begin.
I sensed that someone was taking the seat to my left, it was Yohji Yamamoto!
He said very softly, bending towards me, almost under my hat,
“What are you doing these days?”
I said, “I am taking time for myself”.
He said, “You have a beautiful hat”. I said, “Thank you very much”
The day after, I was invited for tea in the Marais.
He said, “I have the feeling my language is not understood” I said, “I understand you”
He said, “I wanted to ask you to be my translation”.
A few months after, I said “Yes”.
I preciously kept my black velvet hat!