Remembering the Prince of Pleats: Designer Issey Miyake Dies at 84
SOURCE: Issey Miyake takes his runway bow in Paris, 1997, CFDA
Issey Miyake, the iconic Japanese fashion designer known for his innovative and experimental clothing, died last Friday in Tokyo at the age of 84. His cause of death was liver cancer. The designer’s death was announced by both the Miyake Design Studio and the Issey Miyake Group. Miyake made a significant impact on the fashion and design industry, whilst making sure he honored his home country of Japan, furthermore helping popularize the country's culture and fashion on a global scale.
Miyake was born on April 22, 1938, in Hiroshima, Japan. The future icon was only seven years old when the city was detonated by an atomic bomb that was dropped by the U.S. in 1945. His mother died of radiation exposure three years later. Although it was an impactful event in his life, he did not talk about this experience until 2009. According to Vogue, Miyake later recalled: “When I close my eyes, I still see things no one should ever experience: a bright red light, the black cloud soon after, people running in every direction trying desperately to escape—I remember it all.” He was later inspired, he said, by Hiroshima’s 1952-completed Peace Bridge designed by US-Japanese sculptor Isamu Noguchi to “think of things that can be created, not destroyed, and that bring beauty and joy.”
Miyake discovered his passion for fashion by studying his sister's fashion magazines. He eventually went on to study design at Tama Art University in Tokyo. After graduating in 1964, Miyake enrolled in the Chambre Syndicale de la couture Parisienne school in Paris and was the late french designer Guy Laroche’s design apprentice. Miyake also worked with Givenchy house founder, Hubert de Givenchy, where he drew 50 to 100 sketches on a daily basis. He moved to NYC in 1969, where he enrolled in English courses at Colombia University before founding the Miyake Design Studio in Tokyo in 1970, becoming one of the first Japanese designers to ever show his designs in Paris. Through his work in Paris and New York, he got the chance to introduce and shed a light on Japanese fashion to some of the most influential names in the industry.
SOURCE:(from left to right): Kenzo Takada, Anne-Marie Beretta, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Chantal Thomass, Alix Gres, Yves Saint-Laurent, Sonia Rykiel, Issey Miyake, Pierre Bergé, and Emanuel Ungaro at a luncheon on March 21, 1984, Vogue
Although he is known for creating avant-garde style pieces, the style Miyake is most known for are pleats. Pleats were created from his belief that clothing items could, and should be made out of only one piece of fabric and should withstand daily wear-and-tear. This led to the creation of his most widely-known brand, Pleats Please, which became increasingly popular among men, and soon after the creation of Homme Plissé Issey Miyake. Miyake designed Pleats Please after designing costumes with his pleats for a performance by William Forsythe’s Frankfurt Ballet company in 1991, which inspired dancing and other forms of movement to later become a key element in Miyake’s performance-like show formats.
Like other designers, Miyake was also present in the fragrance industry, with his first fragrance released in the early '90s, L'Eau d'Issey, gaining a cult following. Issey Miyake was never one to follow trends. In one of his most famous interviews, Miyake told Parisvoice, "Anything that's 'in fashion’ goes out of style too quickly. I don't make fashion. I make clothes,". He became a creative fashion pioneer, opening doors for other avant-garde brands like Iris van Herpen and Comme des Garçons. In popular culture, Miyake is also known for creating Apple founder Steve Jobs’ beloved black turtleneck, which was a staple design from his '80s collections. Besides Steve Jobs, celebrities such as iconic model Grace Jones, late actor Robin Williams, supermodel Monica Bellucci, Kim Kardashian, Paloma Elsesser, and many more have sported his designs.
SOURCE: (FROM LEFT TO RIGHT) A YOUNG STEVE JOBS WEARING THE ICONIC ISSEY MIYAKE BLACK TURTLENECK, KIM KARDASHIAN WEARING A VINTAGE ISSEY MIYAKE TOP WHILE SHOPPING, GRACE JONES IN ISSEY MIYAKE at A GRAMMY PARTY IN 1983, & ROBIN WILLIAMS IN AN ISSEY MIYAKE JACKET in 1997. HAverford.EDU & VOGUE
Miyake's work was both remarkably innovative and award-winning. In 2005, Miyake was awarded the Praemium Imperiale, a Japanese award that honors outstanding contributions to the development, promotion, and progress of the arts. In 2006, he received the Kyoto Prize, Japan’s highest level award for lifetime achievement. In 2010, former Japanese emperor Akihito awarded Miyake with the Order of Culture at Tokyo’s Imperial Palace.
SOURCE: Vogue Runway & PINTEREST @ASHANTYSELINA
Issey Miyake will not only be remembered as the creator of the fashion world’s most famous black turtleneck but he also will be remembered as one of our generation’s greatest designers. His avant-garde pieces pushed the boundaries between fashion and art while re-introducing us to new and innovative designs inspired by his Japanese culture, turning it into something greater, that we will continue to wear and remember for a lifetime.
