Mother nature gets encoded into the cyber world this season at Y-3 in its latest collection: Contra-Natural. As the name suggests, a balance of the synthetic and the natural is at play, their opposition for power procuring unexpected beauty in perhaps even more unexpected places. Whether you’ll find it in an oversized pocket or expansive, heavy-duty outerwear, one cannot say with certainty. However, what is certain is Y-3’s knack for propelling elevated sportswear into fashion’s stratosphere.

Glitched up and baptized into the subversive world of Yamamoto’s designs, mother nature embraces the Avant-Garde. Peep the florals. While florals aren’t necessarily a new theme to the vernal mode, it’s worth noting that they’re not your cliched bouquets. Scans from real flowers blossom into a charming disarray of glitches. In the same vein of the natural dominating the metallic, oxidation rises to the pedestal of the muse when concerning its color palette. Of course, there is the usual surfeit of black, Solid Gray, and white—however, staccato appearances of Clay Brown, Mesa, Shadow Red, and Mint seethe into the collection with acidic undertones, deviating from Y-3’s usual color-coded confines.

Not unlike the nature it muses, the adaptability of Y-3’s Spring 2024 collection arises in detachable components in its accessories. Honorable mentions include soft leather tote bags, nylon backpacks, totes, holdalls, and a beach towel bag.

Undeniably, the opposition for power between nature and technology takes center stage this season at the globally coveted sportswear label. Yet, it is not alone; another concept is omnipresent throughout the collection, even if only in its shadows. At the height of utilitarianism, Y-3’s latest vision draws from workwear and athletic apparel. Note the cotton twill fabrications, cargo pockets, and adjustable hems. Fully armored in blown-up pockets, expansive trousers, and technical vests, models appear in Y-3’s lookbook with garments surpassing complex that will leave you questioning where one ends and the other begins.

The Adidas Superstar Tracksuit also gets reimagined, featuring topographical map piping as FIFA enters the scene with reissued 2006 World Cup jerseys in summer-ready hues pulsing with vibrance. Meanwhile, footwear receives a massive update with the Y-3 Stan Smith and Y-3 Country, featuring collapsable leather and piped details.

While sports, workwear, nature, and technology seem worlds apart, Y-3’s penchant for cross-pollinating the eclectic sets its latest collection apart. You see, with Yohji Yamamoto, it’s all about the functionality and purity of design. Yes, his design world—often suffused in black—can be perplexing, to say the least. Nonetheless, it is precisely his ability to take that complexity and imbue it with the accessibility many seek in sportswear that makes it a hit.