09/08/2022
The brilliant Issey Miyake and his innovative creations and his mentoring of designers who continued his label have enlivened every fashion we have covered in Paris. His experimentation and avant-garde sensibility will be much missed. Pictured is a piece from the Spring/Summer 2019 collection, shot by for .
Miyake rose to international prominence in the 1980s. Today, his designs are preserved at institutions including London's Victoria and Albert Museum, New York's Museum of Modern Art and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
He also found a lifelong customer in Steve Jobs, who wore his black turtlenecks almost exclusively from the 1980s onward.
Miyake studied graphic design at Tokyo's Tama Art University before moving to Paris in 1965.
While in Paris, Miyake worked for Guy Laroche and Hubert de Givenchy, two of the biggest names in haute couture, before moving to New York to assist Geoffrey Beene.
In 1970, he founded his own design studio in Tokyo. His early designs skillfully blended East and West, using Japanese embroidery techniques and tattoo designs.
It was during the 1980s that he began to develop a new fabric that could expanded vertically with hundreds of tiny folds. He drew inspiration from the pleated silk Delphos gowns designed by Henriette Negrin and her husband Mariano Fortuny.
Miyake took their idea a step forward, blending traditional and newly developed techniques to create permanently pleated garments that were at once avant-garde and comfortable, architectural and natural.
In 2007, Miyake launched his Reality Lab to explore durable and environmentally sustainable materials.
In addition to his clothing, Miyake was also known for his line of fragrances. The first, L'Eau d'Issey, was launched in 1992 and became an international bestseller.
Miyake received multiple awards for his work as a fashion designer and as an artist. In 2016, the French government awarded Miyake the prestigious Legion of Honor.
