Issey Miyake

Issey Miyake (1938–2022) was a visionary designer whose eponymous label synthesised technology, craft and artistic exploration. After surviving the Hiroshima bombing, he studied graphic design at Tama Art University and trained in Paris and New York before returning to Tokyo to found the Miyake Design Studio in 1970. His early collections introduced Japanese concepts of “a piece of cloth,” creating garments from single panels draped and wrapped rather than cut to rigid Western patterns.

Miyake also developed radically simple shapes in cotton and hemp that allowed freedom of movement and were inspired by traditional dress such as the kimono and hakama. In the late 1980s he pioneered heat‑set pleating that maintains shape while remaining flexible, leading to the landmark Pleats Please line.

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, the studio functioned as a research laboratory where textiles engineers and artisans collaborated on new techniques like garment‑to‑garment knitting and A‑POC (A Piece of Cloth), a process that uses computer‑programmed knitting machines to produce seamless tubes of fabric that can be cut by the wearer. Miyake’s democratic philosophy led to accessible lines such as Bao Bao bags and fragrances like L’Eau d’Issey.

While he stepped back from day‑to‑day design in 1999, appointing Naoki Takizawa and later Yoshiyuki Miyamae and Satoshi Kondo as creative directors, he remained involved in the studio’s spirit of innovation and cross‑disciplinary collaboration.

Miyake often asserted that “design is not for philosophy—it’s for life.” His guiding principle was to create clothing that serves the body and spirit; garments should be universal, simple and adaptable to different lifestyles. He admired the purity of Japanese ancestral clothing and sought to translate its fluidity into contemporary design while embracing modern technology. The “A Piece of Cloth” concept epitomises his belief that clothing can emerge from a single continuous panel, minimising waste and emphasising the relationship between body and fabric.

The Miyake Design Studio operates like a collective, valuing individual creativity within teamwork. It draws inspiration from nature, art and dance and often collaborates with engineers and artists to develop materials such as recycled polyester and paper yarn. Sustainability and longevity are central: pleated garments are washable, lightweight and durable, designed to liberate the wearer from conventional care. Miyake also embraced collaboration outside fashion, designing uniforms for staff of museums and working with Apple’s Steve Jobs on his black turtlenecks.

This openness and curiosity underpin a philosophy that design should improve life through elegance, movement and innovation rather than serve fleeting trends. This philosophy underpins all Miyake lines, from pleated garments to accessories and fragrances, each designed to enhance daily life.