Overview

In 1983, Japanese designer Issey Miyake told The New Yorker that he aspired “to forge ahead, to break the mold.” With the boundary-defying fashion lines that followed, he not only broke molds, but recast clothing altogether. With a unique fusion of poetry and practicality, his creations blur the boundaries between tradition, modern technology, and everyday function. This definitive history of Miyake’s clothes offers expert insight into the designer’s vision and daring. Initiated and conceived by Midori Kitamura, the book looks at the texture-driven originality of Miyake’s materials and techniques from the very earliest days of his career, before he had even established the Miyake Design Studio. Drawing on more than 40 years of collaborative work with Miyake, Kitamura creates an encyclopedic reference of his material and technical innovations through the clothes based on A Piece of Cloth concept, Body Series of the 1980s, Miyake Pleats series, and such practical, everyday designs as Pleats Please pieces. Stunning photographs from Miyake’s contemporary Yuriko Takagi capture his clothes in their particular quotidian originality, including a breathtaking shoot in Iceland. In her far-reaching essay, meanwhile, leading cultural figure Kazuko Koike offers both a complete chronology of Miyake’s work, and an unprecedented personal profile, looking at the ambition and inspirations that have driven his repertoire from tender teenage years. A must-have for designers, students, and fashion devotees, this is a timeless tribute to one of the most innovative makers of our age.

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9783836555227

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Stunning photographs by Yuriko Takagi of Miyake s groundbreaking designs including his handkerchief dress and origami pleats shot among sublime natural landscapes. - , New York

Stunning photographs by Yuriko Takagi of Miyake s groundbreaking designs including his handkerchief dress and origami pleats shot among sublime natural landscapes. -, New York

Author Information

Kazuko Koike is the founder and director of Sagacho Exhibit Space in Tokyo. She has written and edited many books, including Issey Miyake East Meets West, Japanese Coloring, Japan Design, and Aura of Space. She is an Advisory Board member of MUJI. Renowned clothing designer Issey Miyake (1938–2022) studied graphic design at Tama Art University, Tokyo, before founding the Miyake Design Studio in 1970, Miyake’s creative base for all his work. In 2007, Miyake opened the design facility 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT, also in Tokyo. Midori Kitamura is chairman of the Miyake Design Studio and the Miyake Issey Foundation, and also president of 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT, working under Issey Miyake to develop collections, exhibitions, products, and publications, including Issey Miyake Pleats Please, also with TASCHEN. Kitamura directed the 2011 exhibition, Irving Penn and Issey Miyake: Visual Dialogue. Yuriko Takagi was born in Tokyo and studied graphic design at Musashino Art University and fashion design in England before becoming a photographer. She specializes in images of the human body and clothing and exhibits widely. Her publications include Nus intimes (Yobisha) and In and Out of Mode (Gap Japan).

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