Issey Miyake

The zenith of Japanese fashion design caliber.
The reason why Japanese design has gained a footing in the fashion orthodox of Europe.

Mr. Issey Miyake

The miracle name means "Three Houses One Life". (See, I can read kangji.) It's a poetic name. The owner of the name was born in pre-nuked Hiroshima (1938). The horror of the atomic disaster must have triggered an antibody from the child at the age of seven that he desired beauty and peace in the expression of visual art. He studied graphic design and apprenticed at Paris and New York. He returned to his root at the age of 32 and opened his own design studio. For more info on his bio, click to infomat.


He had two major technical innovations:

A-POC, a piece of cloth. Make a garment with one piece of cloth, meaning no traditional cut-and-sew. Even better, customers can cut the cloth to their own satisfaction. I didn't see how IS does that and could only admire his creative gene. Check out its promotion video. Very creative with a perfect synchronization of its images and music.

Pleats Please, a method to creat pleated texture on a cloth already cut. Again, I cannot imagine how he make the pattern if the cloth is going to shrink after pleating. Must be very mathematical.

Issey Miyake Design

You can admire his innovations on his website. I looked through the Spring/Summer 2009 line of APOC, Pleats Please, HAAT, and Issey Miyake FETE and was totally converted to be his fan.

I LOVE his aesthetics. Clean, textured, beautiful color coordination, masterfully proportioned and comfortable yet rare silhouettes. I want those lantern-shaped pants and opaque striped dresses. Every woman should have those instead of cotton T-shirt and skinny jeans all year round. On top of that, its models do not wear dangerously high stilettos. The flats look perfect with the outfits. Its design is like a fresh breeze through the window from the spring meadow, so unlike any other designs you could find on style.com.

I also love its website background music, very hypnotizing. If you click into his latest fashion show, you will be mesmerized by the show: the lighting, music, martial art session (when the gongfu masters kicks in suits) and the breathtakingly beautiful clothes. I've seen such original and thoughtful designs for a long time. (Probably because I didn't browse as frequently lately.) I can find traces of Japanese kimono influeces in its collar design and draping.

Issey Miyake clothing is not just a piece of cloth. It has a life in it, because the designer (now Mr. Miyake no longer worked on line development) gives part of his soul to the creation.