There is hardly a book on the history of fashion that does not mention his name: Issey Miyake marked his time with his pleated, conceptual designs. The Japanese designer, who died on August 5, 2022, leaves behind a body of work that is unparalleled in fashion.
In France, Issey Miyake is widely credited as one of the first Japanese fashion designers to establish himself on the European fashion scene. In 1971, after a fashion show in New York, the designer presented his first collection in Paris. At his Fall/Winter 1973 show, audiences saw dresses that today would simply be described as ‘oversized’. They were cut flat from the fabric, like a kimono, and featured great freedom of movement. Miyake’s genius was already revealed in this first collection.
Born in Hiroshima in 1938, Issey Miyake graduated in graphic design from Tama Art University in Tokyo and decided to go to Paris in 1965 to study at the École de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. He worked for Guy Laroche, then Givenchy, and then moved to New York, where he was employed by Geoffrey Beene. Throughout his life, his designs combined French couture, American pragmatism and Japanese sensitivity.
In 1970 he founded his own studio, Miyake Design Studio (MDS) in Tokyo with the dream of one day making a garment that would approach the simplicity of a t-shirt or jeans. He wanted to create something for everyday use that would be machine washable, easy to pack in a suitcase and inexpensive. In other words, a counterpoint to the unaffordable luxury of haute couture.
This is how his embossed and pleated designs, which weigh only a few grams, came about. Lightweight dresses, sometimes compared to Mariano Fortuny’s timeless dresses, reflecting both Japanese fashion and Western wardrobes. Issey Miyake creates his own fabrics, colors and patterns to create these dresses. It is these technological innovations, coupled with a sense of simplicity, that make his work famous.
‘A permanent encyclopedia for the coming decades’
In the book Ideal history of contemporary fashion Olivier Saillard describes the Issey Miyake Spring/Summer 1977 show as follows: “The knitwear or jerseys are pure squares, draped carelessly over the body with an archaic, timeless gesture.” Of the Spring/Summer 1984 collection, the historian said, that it was one of the most important shows in the history of contemporary fashion: “His vocabulary of ample shapes that covet rather than avoid the body, the treatment of fabrics that only he designs, the poetry and purity that like a Color is tamed will be a permanent encyclopedia for decades to come.”
The spring/summer 1984 collection was one of the most important shows in the history of contemporary fashion. Finally, in 1993, he launched his famous Pleats Please, a more affordable line of clothing made from synthetic textiles that retain the memory of pleats. In collaboration with textile engineer Dai Fujiwara, Issey Miyake launched the brand “A-POC” (A Piece of Cloth) in 1998, the name of which took up the title of his spring/summer 1977 fashion show.
Issey Miyake retired in the late 1990s, after which Naoki Takizawa was appointed main-line designer. However, the company said in a press release that Mr. Miyake “continued to collaborate with his teams, creating new designs and overseeing all collections across Issey Miyake’s various lines.” Artistic direction is currently handled by Satoshi Kondo, who replaces Yoshiyuki Miyamae in 2019.
Issey Miyake’s timeless fashion is still hot in 2022 and is still walking the runway at Paris Fashion Week.
This article was previously published on FashionUnited.fr. Translation and editing: Barbara Russ