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The University of Texas at Austin

Issey Miyake: Design and Technology

Vincent Luu

Clothing the Planet

Professor Wilson

10/17/19
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“Haute Couture”. For most people images of the works of fashion house giants such as

Dior, Givenchy, and Chanel come to mind when these words are uttered. Characterized by

extreme attention to detail and the use of old hand techniques the clothing produced under the

label of Haute Couture can be seen more like pieces of art rather than just merely clothing. The

word translates into high dressmaking and the practice of Haute Couture is rooted in old

techniques done by hands such as embroidery, beading, and feathers. Issey Miyake is in a sense

an antithesis to the ideas of Haute Couture. Pushing the boundaries of what can be done with

textiles and constantly exploring new methods of creating clothing he has pioneered the

intermingling of fashion and technology. In his own words “Many people repeat the past, I'm

not interested. I prefer evolution.” (Miyake).

Figure 1: Issey Miyake Portrait

Issey Miyake was born in Hiroshima and survived the dropping of the first atomic bomb

in 1945. Much of his family was killed in the bombing and Miyake himself developed a bone

marrow disease which he still deals with to this day. Much like his view on fashion however, he

doesn’t like hanging onto the past stating “I tried never to be defined by my past” (Miyake). His

first experience with design came when as a child witnessed the Peace bridges built in

Hiroshima near the area of impact of the bomb (Figure 2). It was a design that looked to the

future and to Miyake this was inspiring. Miyake was constantly questioning the world around

him. When he went to Tama Art University there was no clothing design included in the

program of the World Design Conference and Miyake questioned it. He was acknowledged for

classifying clothing as design rather than fashion and the Conference accepted his request. This

reflects in Miyake’s philosophy as he designs not just as a “fashion designer” but as a

multidisciplinary designer.

Figure 2: Peace Bridge

In 1965 Miyake went to Paris to study Haute Couture where he ended up at the atelier

of Guy Laroche. Here another turning point in Miyake’s life occurred as he witnessed the Paris

riots fire up in May 1968 and the beginning of the era of the “common man”. Clothing for the
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masses rather than the Haute couture reserved for the wealthy elite was the future of clothing

Miyake envisioned from then on. This idea was further enhanced when he went to America and

experienced working with ready-to-wear in juxtaposition to his experience working with haute

couture under Givenchy in the years before. In 1970 he finally returned to his homeland of

Japan and opened his design studio to start working on his vision.
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While Miyake had a strong emphasis on the future, he worked to bring past techniques

into a modern context with the help of manufacturing and technology. The most iconic

technique he renewed was pleating which he began to experiment within the late 80s. Miyake

innovated modern pleating through the use of synthetic fabrics and creating oversized

garments that would then be passed through heat setting machines which set the pleats

permanently into the garment. From this technology, Miyake launched his line PLEATS PLEASE

ISSEY MIYAKE. The clothes were revolutionary in that they did not have to be repleated and

could be compressed easily for storage. Miyake continues to use pleating in his latest

collections as shown in Figure 3 and the method has become a hallmark of his brand. In 2013

Miyake launched Homme Plisse in reaction to the number of male customers that wanted his

pleated clothing designs.

Figure 3: SS16 Pleated Dress

A major characteristic of Miyake’s design is how the garments he designed interacted

with the body. For example, his Lantern dress design displayed hanging creates a voluminous

garment that flared out from the body (Figure 4). However once off the body, the garment

collapses on itself into a flat two-dimensional form. His clothing was like dynamic pieces of art.

Appearing abstract off the human body but once draped on a person transformed into a grand

piece of dress. He eventually developed the line 132 5. ISSEY MIYAKE which focused on this

origami-like idea of creating clothing that would collapse flat. In the 21st century, his design

team would begin to bring mathematics into the designs, further integrating technology and

science into Miyake’s brand.

Figure 4: Lantern Dress

Besides pioneering technology in fashion Miyake used his techniques to make human

connections. He’s collaborated with many influential people including Steve Jobs whom he
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designed the iconic black turtlenecks for. Other notable collaborations include Irving Penn who

photographed Miyake’s work and other design studios such as Iittala. He drew many of his

inspirations from architecture and nature and just everyday life even. This can be seen in his

Egg Carton Suit where the fabric is manipulated to have protruding 3-d forms to mimic the

shape of an Egg Carton (Figure 5). This playful nature connects back to how he wanted to

design things that evoked emotions within people and that people could relate to.

Figure 5: Egg Carton Suit

His work went beyond the limits of what clothing could be and eventually, others

realized this. He opened the doors for the “Japanese Avant-Garde” in the west with other

notable Japanese designers such as Rei Kawakubo and Yoji Yamamoto finding global acclaim

after Miyake’s entrance in the Paris fashion scene. In 1982 one of his designs, a sculptural dress

with a bust made of rattan was featured on a model on the cover of ARTFORUM (Figure 6). At
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the time this was considered controversial and revolutionary within the art world as many art

critics did not classify fashion as art. But nonetheless, it was important as Miyake’s work

brought a discussion within the world of contemporary art and isn’t the very essence of art

something that makes people think and question?

Figure 6: ARTFORUM issue 1982 displaying Issey Miyake Dress with Rattan top and Polyester Skirt

I have learned from Miyake that it is important to look to the past in order to innovate.

He took ancient techniques such as pleating and contextualized them in a modern way with

technology and I think this is what made him so unique and successful as a designer. Second, I

have learned that there is an importance in pushing forward and refusing to let the past hold

you down whether this means personally or within one’s work. The only time to look back is

when you need to make something new. This is what makes Miyake so inspiring to me as he
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constantly looks into the future even now at the age of 81, he continues to pursue new

technologies such as computer programs which can create geometrical patterns and recycled

materials. His clothing transforms the world and today he has shifted his focus to sustainability

through technology. “It's important to make clothes for long-term use now, not just one

season, “he says. 'We can't keep throwing things away.” (Miyake).

As someone interested in fashion and technology Miyake embodies what I hope to do

one day. Without researching him I wouldn’t have learned of a design philosophy that I closely

resonate with. Before I had a perception that most well-known fashion designers created

clothing to tell a story or just make beautiful clothes for the wealthy to wear. However,

designers like Miyake exist who completely flip orthodox ideas of clothing. I now understand

that there aren’t really any rules in design and that it should be about experimenting and trying

to innovate as much as possible.

Works Cited

Amy. “Fashion as Art. Or Maybe Not.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 15 Sept. 1996,

https://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/15/arts/fashion-as-art-or-maybe-not.html.

Arnold, Kim Weston. “Issey Miyake SS16 Look 35.” Indigital, Indigitalimages.com.

Blanchard, Tamsin. “Issey Miyake: 45 Years at the Forefront of Fashion.” The Guardian, Guardian

News and Media, 10 Apr. 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2016/apr/10/issey-

miyake-45-years-at-the-forefront-of-fashion.

Editors, Metropolis. “The A to Z of Issey Miyake.” Metropolis, 28 Feb. 2017,

https://www.metropolismag.com/design/the-a-to-z-of-issey-miyake/?

cparticle=2&siarticle=1#Folding.

“Telegraph.” Telegraph, http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/news-features/TMG8018669/Issey-Miyake-

interview.html. Accessed 17 Oct. 2019.

“Issey Miyake Egg Carton Skirt Suit.” Farfetch, Farfetch UK Limited,

https://www.farfetch.com/shopping/women/issey-miyake-pre-owned-egg-carton-skirt-suit-item-

12860098.aspx.

Lacombe, Brigitte. “Issey Miyake.” Vogue Italia, 27 July 2015, https://www.vogue.it/en/uomo-

vogue/news/2015/07/-homme-plisse-issey-miyake?refresh_ce=#ad-image.

Noguchi, Isamu. “Peace Bridge.” Tumblr,

https://66.media.tumblr.com/5049cfa0c86257e555dee8269f918b89/tumblr_nso6sqR6HS1r5kn5y

o3_1280.jpg.
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“The Concepts and Work of Issey Miyake.” MIYAKE DESIGN STUDIO | 株式会社三宅デザイン

事務所, http://mds.isseymiyake.com/im/en/work/.

Dress by Issey Miyake 2019, Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, accessed 17 October 2019,

<https://ma.as/142953>