7 Issey Miyake Moments That Prove His Design Legacy Is Everlasting

Published on 8/11/2022 at 5:15 PM

As the world continues to mourn the passing of fashion luminary Issey Miyake, one thing is certain: he leaves behind an immeasurable design legacy. Throughout the scope of his prolific career, he revolutionized fabrication, introduced Japanese avant-garde style to the West, championed diversity on and off the runway, embraced color theory alongside minimalism, and pushed the bounds of "art as fashion."

Few designers are responsible for disrupting the industry and rewriting the design canon in such an impactful way as Miyake. With a background in graphic design and having trained in Paris under top couturiers Guy Laroche and Hubert de Givenchy, as well as Geoffrey Beene, Miyake's unique education informed much of his work.

It's no wonder his design language captivated everyone, from the Olsen twins and Solange Knowles to Kim Kardashian and Rihanna. The late design maverick created with intention and always with a distinct point of view, which made his clothing so enticing. To own an Issey Miyake piece is to own a piece of moving sculpture.

So many timeless design codes cement Miyake and his work into the culture. There's the signature Issey Mikaye bag, the Bao Bao, that's a cult favorite of the art crowd and street style set, as seen on the likes of OG blogger Susie Lau. And who could forget Steve Job's infamous sleek black turtleneck, which was exclusively designed by Miyake? Yet another timeless Miyake signature is the striking, minimal product design of his namesake perfume bottles. Miyake was always on the pulse, always in touch with the zeitgeist even when he was years ahead of it.

From the signature pleated fabrication house code to his lifelong friendship and working-muse relationship with fashion icon Grace Jones, let's look back at some vital design elements and moments of the architectural designer ahead.

Issey Miyake Pleats

One of the most recognizable Issey Miyake house codes today is the pleated fabrication. In the late '80s, he began experimenting with new methods of pleating, and in 1993, the Pleats Please line was launched, showing officially during the spring/summer 1994 season.

Here, a masterfully crafted 1994 Issey Miyake "Flying Saucer" dress is on display at the press preview for the Costume Institute's annual exhibition "About Time: Fashion and Duration."

Issey Miyake Pleats Please

Today, the Pleats Please line is alive and well, with the addition of a men's fusion line, Homme Plissé, in 2013.

Issey Miyake Bag

The signature Issey Miyake bag, named the "Bao Bao," is another example of the house's innovative design concepts and masterful techniques. The architectural, multidimensional handbag debuted in 2000 and launched as a separate line in 2010.

Issey Miyake Bag

Named after the Bilbao as a nod to the Frank-Gehry-designed Guggenheim Museum, the bag remains a timeless street style staple today.

Breastplates

Known for his advanced fabric techniques, Miyake expanded on the notion of body molding, developing a series of metallic breastplates. These were made of molded fiber-reinforced plastic, as shown here in an image from Miyake's runway show in fall/winter 1985/86.

Breastplates

Several of those Issey Miyake breastplates were famously worn by fashion icon and muse Grace Jones.

Grace Jones as a Muse

Speaking of Jones, the music legend is one of the biggest collectors of Issey Miyake pieces. Her expansive collection is evidence of the beautiful working relationship and friendship between the two creatives. From modeling in Miyake's earlier shows to wearing his creations on stage and in music videos, she organically personified the essence of the Issey Miyake woman.

Movement

Initially wanting to pursue dance, Miyake was always inspired by the art of movement and the way fabric swayed with the wearer. This love for dance and movement was a consistent theme throughout all his work.

Movement

Miyake even made custom pieces for William Forsythe's Frankfurt Ballet Company in 1991, which later, through research and development, led to the creation of Pleats Please a few years later.

Diversity Before It Was a Thing

Miyake championed diversity on the runway and editorially, long before it was a trend or an industry standard — from dressing Iman and Jones to casting models of color at every opportunity.

Diversity Before It Was a Thing

He placed Black models front and center in the '80s and '90s, following his revolutionary 1976 runway show "Issey Miyake and Twelve Black Girls," which featured Jones.

1 Piece of Fabric

Through his A–POC (A Piece of Clothing) fabrication work, Miyake developed the concept of self–tailored clothing. It's a concept based on a single, industrially produced, tube-like piece of fabric that the wearer can cut to create a custom outfit, which also speaks to the issue of sustainability. For his spring/summer 1999 collection, he showcased models attached to each other through a thread of red fabric.

1 Piece of Fabric

This eventually became a design code of the house, as demonstrated here at his fall 2020 show.

See more photos of Miyake and his iconic designs ahead.