Issey Miyake | |
|---|---|
 Miyake in Tokyo, 2016 | |
| Born | Kazunaru Miyake (1938-04-22)22 April 1938 |
| Died | 5 August 2022(2022-08-05) (aged 84) Tokyo, Japan |
| Education | Tama Art University |
| Notable work |
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| Awards | Praemium Imperiale |
Issey Miyake (Japanese:三宅 一生,Hepburn:Miyake Issei;[mijakeiꜜsseː] 22 April 1938 – 5 August 2022)[1] was a Japanese fashion designer. He was known for his technology-driven clothing designs, notably the Pleats, Please line, exhibitions and fragrances such asL'eau d'Issey.
Miyake was born Kazunaru Miyake (三宅 一生,Miyake Kazunaru)[2] on 22 April 1938 inHiroshima. He was still living in the city seven years later when the U.S. militarydropped an atomic bomb there in August 1945,[3] which led to his mother's death.[4] He first disclosed this in 2009, whenBarack Obama advocated for globalnuclear disarmament.[5]
As a child, Miyake wanted to become a dancer. His interest in fashion started by studying his sister'sfashion magazines. He studiedgraphic design at theTama Art University inTokyo, graduating in 1964. He entered designs into fashion competition at theBunka Fashion College in Tokyo. However, he did not win a competition due to his lack of pattern-making orsewing skills. After graduation, he enrolled in theChambre syndicale de la couture parisienne school inParis and was apprenticed toGuy Laroche as assistant designer. He also worked withHubert de Givenchy, drawing 50 to 100 sketches daily.[6]
In 1969, Miyake moved toNew York City, where he metChristo,Robert Rauschenberg,Joe Eula andDonna Jordan.[4] He was enrolled in English classes atColumbia University and worked onSeventh Avenue for designerGeoffrey Beene.[6] Returning to Tokyo in 1970,[4] he founded the Miyake Design Studio, a high-end producer of women's fashion.[citation needed]
From a young age, Miyake respected artistIsamu Noguchi, whose novelty and sense of fun in his designs inspired Miyake. He was also inspired by fashion designerMadeleine Vionnet's use of geometric calculations and "a single piece of beautiful cloth".[7] In Paris, he visited several museums and he mentioned that he was influenced by sculptors such asConstantin Brâncuși andAlberto Giacometti.[6]
In the late 1980s, Miyake began to experiment with new methods ofpleating that would allow both flexibility of movement for the wearer as well as ease of care and production. The garments are cut and sewn first, then sandwiched between layers of paper and fed into a heat press, where they are pleated. The fabric's 'memory' holds the pleats and when the garments are liberated from their paper cocoon, they are ready-to wear.
Miyake had a long friendship with Austrian-born pottery artistDame Lucie Rie. She presented him with her archival ceramic buttons, which he integrated into his designs.[8]
For 13 years from 1986, Miyake collaborated with photographerIrving Penn.[4]
Miyake also developed a friendship withApple'sSteve Jobs, who came to him after seeing the uniforms Miyake designed for employees of Sony's factories. At Jobs's request, Miyake designed similar vests for Apple employees, but Jobs encountered strong opposition to the idea of a uniform.[9] Nonetheless, Miyake went on to produce the black turtlenecks which would become a part of Jobs' signature attire. Jobs said, "So I asked Issey to make me some of his black turtlenecks that I liked, and he made me like a hundred of them."[10]
Fashion designer Geoffrey Beene stated that he admired Issey Miyake for Miyake's technique, this in an interview with poet/artist Steven Vita inVeery journal, 1991.[11]
In March 1992, Miyake was quoted in theInternational Herald Tribune as saying "Design is not for philosophy—it's for life."[12]
Between 1996 and 1999, Miyake collaborated with artists for his Guest Artist series. The first collaboration was with the photographer and collage makerYasumasa Morimura; the other artists wereNobuyoshi Araki,Tim Hawkinson, andCai Guo-Qiang.[13][14] Miyake stated that his intention was not to answer the question "Is fashion art?" but instead to create an "interactive relationship" between the art and the people who admired it. By wearing the artworks upon their bodies, the wearers interacted with fashion and art simultaneously.[13]
Miyake was also one of the co-Directors of21 21 Design Sight, Japan's firstdesign museum.[15]
Miyake died ofliver cancer on 5 August 2022, at the age of 84.[16][17]
![Steve Jobs wearing his signature black mock turtle neck by Issey Miyake[10]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aSteve_Jobs_talks_about_the_iPhone_(2197013436)_(cropped).jpg)
Issey Miyake is the main collection line, subdivided intomen (since 1978/85) andwomen (since 1971) collections.[18][19]
The first Issey Miyake collection, for fall 1971, featured a dress with a Japanese-style tattoo print ofJanis Joplin andJimi Hendrix created by Makiko Minagawa, an artist who joined the studio staff.[20]
In 1991, forBallett Frankfurt, Miyake designed costumes of permanently pleated ultra-featherweight polyesterjersey forWilliam Forsythe'sThe Loss of Small Detail; during the work the male and female dancers exchanged pants for skirts and vice versa. He sent 200 to 300 garments for the dancers to wear a different one in each performance. This led to the development of thePleats, Please range and inspired him to use dancers to display his work.[6][16]
He released his Pleats, Please line in 1993. The clothes offer an unusual freedom of movement; they are made of extremely fine polyester fabric, with cascades of thin, sharp permanent pleats created with a proprietary heat treatment, an undefined waist, and rarely any zippers or other fastenings. They are machine washable and can be wadded up without loss of shape. Miyake said he hoped that wearing them would also loosen inhibitions. They became his most recognizable look.[16]San Francisco Chronicle fashion editor Sylvia Rubin credited Miyake together withBabette Pinsky with "reinventing" theMariano Fortuny pleat.[21]
In 1994 and 1999, Miyake turned over the design of the men's and women's collections respectively, to his associate,Naoki Takizawa, so that he could return to research full-time.[citation needed] In 2007, Naoki Takizawa opened his own brand supported by the Issey Miyake Group and was replaced as Creative Director byDai Fujiwara, who ran the House of Issey Miyake until 2012.[citation needed] The design duties were split as of the Spring/Summer 2012 collections, withYoshiyuki Miyamae appointed head designer of the women's collection and Yusuke Takahashi designing the men's line.[citation needed]
Miyake "oversaw the overall direction of all lines created by his company", even though the individual collections have been designed by his staff since his 'retirement' from the fashion world in 1997.[22][23]
Like many fashion designers, Issey Miyake also had a line of perfumes. His first fragrance,L'eau d'Issey, was created by perfumerJacques Cavallier.[32]
The scent was followed by L'eau d'Issey Pour Homme (for men) in 1994. L'eau Bleue d'Issey Pour Homme was introduced in 2004; and its evolution, L'eau Bleue d'Issey Eau Fraiche was introduced in 2006. Every year from 2007 on, Issey Miyake brought out a "limited time only" fragrance for ladies, for which he brought in a "guest" perfumer. In 2007, he launched 'Drop on a Petal', and in 2008 he launched 'Reflections in a Drop'. A new Issey Miyake men's fragrance, L'eau d'Issey Pour Homme Intense, was introduced atNordstrom in the United States in June 2007, with a larger worldwide rollout following in September 2007. Issey Miyake fragrances are produced under a long-term agreement by theBeauté Prestige International division ofShiseido.[33]
In 1992, Issey Miyake designed the Lithuanian national team's official uniform for the1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.[34]
The Miyake Issey Foundation, founded in Tokyo in 2004, operates the21_21 Design Sight center, organizes exhibitions and events, and publishes literature.
21 21 Design Sight (a play on20/20 vision) is a museum-style research center for design, constructed byTadao Ando, that was opened inRoppongi, Tokyo in March 2007. The center was headed by Issey Miyake (until his death in 2022) and four other Japanese designers, and operated byThe Miyake Issey Foundation.[35][36]
Many of Miyake's designs are in museums, including theMuseum of Modern Art’s permanent collection.[37] From March 2016, the largest retrospective of his work was organized atThe National Art Center, Tokyo, celebrating 45 years of career.[38]
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