Issey Miyake

From graphic design to clothing

Miyake survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima as a child and later opposed nuclear weapons.

Miyake studied graphic design, then worked in Paris and New York before establishing his studio in 1970. His early Japanese textile experiments brought traditional techniques into contact with industrial materials. Textile designer Makiko Minagawa was an important collaborator.

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Movement and a different order of making

He became known for pleating garments after they had been assembled, rather than treating pre-pleated cloth as the starting material. Pleats Please launched in 1993.

Clothing for William Forsythe’s Frankfurt Ballet production tested freedom of movement. Miyake treated the space between body and cloth as part of design.

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A system shared with the wearer

With Dai Fujiwara, he developed A-POC, which embeds garment outlines in a continuous textile structure. The customer cuts out and adjusts selected pieces. MoMA’s Queen Textile record credits both designers: personal authorship and industrial production are not opposites here.

Perfume and bag designs broadened the studio’s range.

Sources for this section: [2] · [3]

Research beyond a seasonal collection

Later work included a foundation, 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT and the Reality Lab team. The studio extended its research into folded clothing and lighting.

He died in Tokyo in August 2022. His studio announced the death several days later.

A 1980 turtleneck and later IN-EI lights sit beside Queen Textile in MoMA’s collection. Their different media show a practice moving between clothing and other designed objects.

Performer clothing also informed the Homme Plissé line.

Sources for this section: [1] · [3] · [4]