Introduction
Satoshi Kondo is a Japanese fashion designer who has served as the Artistic Director of Issey Miyake’s women’s collections since 2019. A long-time member of the brand’s design studio, he was a direct disciple of the house’s founder, Issey Miyake, before being selected to lead its creative direction. Kondo is based in Japan and continues the brand’s storied legacy of technical innovation and textile research. His appointment marked a new chapter for the house, focusing on the harmonious relationship between the human form and the fabric it inhabits.
Under his leadership, Issey Miyake has continued to push the boundaries of garment construction, particularly in the areas of seamless knitting and organic materiality. Kondo’s work is noted for its ability to maintain the brand’s core principles of functionality and innovation while introducing a sense of poetic movement and joy. By prioritising the dialogue between clothing and the body, he ensures that the house remains at the forefront of international design, celebrating the liberation of the silhouette through technical mastery.
Design ethos
Seamless knitting and natural fibres are utilised to explore the fundamental concept of 'A piece of cloth,' prioritising the organic dialogue between fabric and anatomy. The design process avoids transient trends in favour of deep textile research, ensuring that movement is the primary determinant of the silhouette. By focusing on the way a garment interacts with the human form in motion, the work achieves a sense of 'poetic joy' and functional liberation. This methodology reflects a rigorous analytical commitment to the liberation of the body through technical innovation.
Technical mastery and textile experimentation result in collections that are both sculptural and intensely wearable. The focus on seamless construction and high-grade natural materials ensures that the physical experience of the wearer is the central concern of the design. By maintaining the heritage of the house while introducing contemporary perspectives on movement, the work bridges the gap between historic innovation and modern wardrobe requirements. The resulting aesthetic is one of restrained sophistication, where the complexity of the construction is hidden within the simplicity of the final form.
Disclaimer
Career history
2025
Folded Forms, Formed Reflections extends the public reading of 132 5. through folded structure, reflection and spatial display. It belongs as an exhibition/research milestone, not a product-drop row.
2021
Never Change, Ever Change places HOMME PLISSÉ’s pleating process inside a digital presentation format, showing how the brand’s garment system adapted to the early-2020s presentation landscape.
2019
A Walk in the Park continued the brand’s use of public movement and choreographed space, positioning pleated menswear as everyday clothing that can also operate as performance.
2019
The 2019 Playground performance at Centre Pompidou reinforced HOMME PLISSÉ’s ability to move between clothing, choreography, public space and fashion-week presentation.
2019
Satoshi Kondo’s current mainline era begins with the Spring/Summer 2020 collection, keeping the house focused on movement, body, cloth and team-based design language.
2019
Satoshi Kondo's chapter at Issey Miyake turned on menswear precision and conceptual experimentation.
2013
Flying Bodies, Soaring Spirits, performed with the Aomori University men’s rhythmic gymnastics team, tested HOMME PLISSÉ through athletic movement and made performance part of the brand’s founding story.
2012
The 2012 Designs of the Year Fashion Award recognised 132 5. beyond a normal product launch, reinforcing the line’s position between clothing, design research and institutional reception.
2010
From its independent launch, BAO BAO is defined by triangular panel construction, planar storage and geometric transformation. This is product-design behaviour, not runway chronology.
2000
The brand’s stretch pleats and compact easy-care tops place me near the Miyake pleating ecosystem, while keeping it distinct from PLEATS PLEASE garment pleating and HOMME PLISSÉ menswear.
1996
The Guest Artist Series placed contemporary art on pleated garments, treating clothing as a moving surface rather than a flat canvas. It is a selected project milestone, not an invitation to catalogue every product variant.
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