Issey Miyake: a label to watch, making a comeback for 2020, and the man himself a true avant-gardist.
Born in 1938, fashion designer Issey Miyake debuted his first fashion collection in Tokyo, Japan in 1963, while attending Tama Art University. The designer is known for his technology infused fashion and for experimenting with new styles of pleating in his clothing during the mid-eighties. Miyake’s main idea in creating clothing was originally to craft a garment from only one piece of fabric. He also incorporates the exploration of the space between the human body and the cloth that covers it into his design principles.
Miyake’s clothes either transform the body with bizarre additions, or sheath it in a bulky mask of fabric. Miyake was one of the first designers to use modern technology to transform fabrics and other materials in the world of fashion.
Much like Prada and Hussein Chalayan do today. The results of his clothing are as astonishing as they are beautiful. Hooded coats made from woven synthetic fibers which replicate the structure of paper, dresses made from mosquito nets, shell shaped pullovers made of fishing line, and jackets made out of Japanese paper abura gami (traditionally used for umbrellas only) are prominent in his collections. He started with the idea of linking the east with the west in his fashion designs, and has continued with that idea in mind, still to this day.
And while Miyake may have “retired” from the active fashion world in 1997, his vision continues to be instilled into the overall direction of all lines created by his company, with individual lines designed by his staff. For the spring 2020 collection, however, the new appointed design director Satoshi Kondo has brought a fresh new life into the brand, solidifying it as one of the most exciting labels to watch for 2020.
Models walked the eclectic dance floor space in Paris in groups or pairs, dancing to the beat in the signature flow-y Miyake garments, their arms outstretched, coming together in Matisse-like circles of joy. Others skateboarded in tech-y, oversized styles that had shapes reminiscent of intricate origami forms. Perhaps one of the most beautiful moments was when the dancers twirled around in the their light-as-air dresses that spun like magic in the wind.
Others bounced to the beat in their Pleats Please dresses that moved like nothing else in this universe. At the end of the show, there wasn’t a single soul who left the building without a smile. And that’s how you know the next generation of Issey Miyake under Satoshi Kondo is one to watch. We can’t wait to see what the designer does for 2020.
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