Last week, Issey Miyake passed away aged 86. Here, we unpack five of the avant-garde designer’s legacy-defining moments.
Japanese designer Issey Miyake passed away from liver cancer on Friday. Miyake will be remembered as a legendary innovator who left an unmatched mark on international fashion. After cutting his teeth under Guy Laroche and Hubert de Givenchy in Paris and a brief stint in New York, the burgeoning designer returned to Japan, where he developed his signature sculptural style, eventually founding nine brands under Issey Miyake Inc.
Miyake can be credited with pioneering numerous design techniques, including A-POC Queen (made in collaboration with Dai Fujiwara) in 1997, an ensemble generated from a single thread by a computer-programmed industrial knitting machine, which wastes virtually no material. Miyake was also one of the first designers to encourage the merging of art and fashion—seeing them as one in the same—collaborating with artists like Nubuyoshi Araki, Yasumasa Morimura, and Tim Hawkinson on various collections.
Over the last few days, magazines, celebrities, and fashion mainstays have flocked to social media in their droves to eulogize the late designer. Those paying tribute included the minds behind Instagram account Diet Prada, Linda Evangelista, and Jean Paul Gaultier, who took to the Twitter to gush, “the fashion greats are immortal through the art they left us with. The emphasis Issey Miyake put into his garments and shows is everlasting.”
Below, we outline five of Miyake’s many iconic moments, from the performative to the political.
1. Issey Miyake and 12 Black girls
In 1976, Miyake staged a runway show in Tokyo titled Issey Miyake and Twelve Black Girls. The Eurocentric modeling industry lacked diversity at the time, and as such, the show was percieved as a radical and empowering move. Grace Jones, who became a longstanding Miyake collaborator, was among the models who walked the catwalk and credited the gig with boosting her profile during a lull in her career.
2. Miyake’s foray into costume design
We would, of course, be remiss not to mention what is likely Miyake’s resounding legacy, his patented pleating technique which allowed, for the first time, pleats to be washed and folded while retaining their shape. To test out his pleats, Miyake designed pleat-heavy costumes for “The Loss of Small Detail,” a ballet performance choreographed by William Forsythe.
3. His work as an Olympic outfitter
In 1992, Miyake designed the costumes for Lithuania’s Olympic team. The summer Olympics in Barcelona marked the first time Lithuania could compete as a free country, out from under the reign of the U.S.S.R. Miyake’s costumes consisted of hoodies strewn with the Lithuanian flag and Olympic logo, the hoods opening up to read the words “Lithuania,” finished with futuristic silver track pants. Given the occasion, Miyake donated the costumes free of charge.
4. A Flash of Memory
Miyake was a survivor of the nuclear attack on Hiroshima, Japan, in August 1945, which signaled the imminent end of the Second World War. He was just seven at the time. Despite having remained tight-lipped on his experience throughout his career, in 2009, when President Obama pledged to eliminate nuclear weapons, the designer penned a stirring New York Times Op-Ed, A Flash of Memory, detailing the urgency of nuclear disarmament. “When I close my eyes, I still see things no one should ever experience: a bright red light, the black cloud soon after, people running in every direction trying desperately to escape. I remember it all. Within three years, my mother died from radiation exposure,” he wrote.
5. Steve Jobs’ famous turtle neck
Steve Jobs was famed for his black turtlenecks—a simple, classic wardrobe staple that contributed to his no-nonsense, consummate professional persona. The turtlenecks in question were custom designed for Jobs by Miyake in the ’80s, before becoming available for purchase as part of his wider Issey Mayake collection.
Homepage image by Brigitte Lacombe Top of page image by Noriaki Yokosuka Above image by Philippe Brazil
