FASHION QUOTE:
ISSEY MIYAKE
Written by Andrew Sia
Illustrated by Elita Lam
“Beauty is like a sunset: it goes as soon as you try to capture it. The beauty you like is precisely that which escapes you”.
Fashion Quote: By Issey Miyake, “Beauty is like a sunset: it goes as soon as you try to capture it. The beauty you like is precisely that which escapes you”. – It is an attempt that I tried to introduce some of the world-renowned Japanese fashion designers.
Issey Miyake is a world-renowned Japanese fashion designer. He is famous for his futuristic and technology-driven clothing designs. He was born in April 22, 1938 in Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. He saw his house destroyed during the dropping of the H-bomb in Hiroshima, which happened on August, 1945 and he was barely a seven-year old boy. He graduated in 1964 from the Tama Art University in Tokyo, one of the top art school in Japan, for the graphic design.
After graduation, he worked in Paris and New York and returned to Tokyo in 1970 and found Miyaki Design Studio, producing high-end women’s fashion.
In the late 1980s, he “reinvented” the Fortuny pleat, made famous by Marino Fourty y Madrazo in the early 20th century in Spain. Miyaki began to experiment with new methods of pleating that would allow the flexibility of women as well as introduce an ease of care.
Issey Miyaki is known for an overall direction of all lines, even though the individual collections have been designed by his staff since his “retirement” from the fashion world in 1997. From what we seen, he never retires.
- Issey Miyaki – main collection line, subdivided into men and women collections, designed by Dai Fujiwara.
- Issey Miyaki Fête – colorful women’s line draws on the technological innovations of pleats.
- Pleats Please Issey Miyaki – polyester jersey garments for women that are first cut and sewn and then pleated in reverse to the conventional way. Miyaki patented the technique in 1993.
- Haat – a women’s line designed by Makiko Minagawa.
- POC – custom-collection for men and women using tubes of fabric, machine-processes and can be cut by customers into various shapes.
- 132.5 Issey Miyaki – an evolution of the above concept.
- me Issey Miyaki – a line of “exclusive one-sized shirts that stretch to fit the wearer.
- Bao Bao Issey Miyaki – line of bags.
- Issey Miyaki Watches – men and women’s watches.
- Issey Miyaki Perfumes – line of fragrances for men and women.
- Evian by Issey Miyaki – limited edition bottle designed for Evian water.
In 2015, Issey Miyaki celebrated 45 years of his career with an extensive exhibition at the National Art Center, Tokyo.
When I was researching about the work of Issey Miyaki, I found that he encounter with Steve Jobs which was quite interesting. I am quoting the following for your attention.
“Steve Jobs, creator of Apple computer, and later when he returned to Apple, he brought along Apple II, the Macintosh, Pixar, iMac, iTunes, iPod, iPhone and iPad, was a friend of Issey Miyake. Steve came to know Issey Miyake through Sony.
It was as early as 1980s, Steve asked Akio Morita, chairman of Sony, for the reason of the company’s uniform. It brought out that after the WWII no one had any clothes proper enough to wear for work every day. The company, like Sony, would have to give their workers something to wear to come to work. Over the years a culture was developed in the Japanese companies that it became a way to bond the workers to the companies.
It was as early as 1980s, Steve asked Akio Morita, chairman of Sony, for the reason of the company’s uniform. It brought out that after the WWII no one had any clothes proper enough to wear for work every day. The company, like Sony, would have to give their workers something to wear to come to work. Over the years a culture was developed in the Japanese companies that it became a way to bond the workers to the companies.
Sony began to approach Issey Miyake to create its uniform and it was a jacket with the sleeves that could unzip to make it a vest.
Steve brought the idea back to Apple for the company uniform but was booed by his staffs. Instead he ended up wearing the black turtlenecks as a signature and Issey Miyake made him hundreds of them. Steve was recalled by us as wearing black turtlenecks, Levi’s jeans and gray New Balance sneakers.
The rest you can read from Walter Isaacson’s authorized biography of Steve Jobs.”
Issey Miyaki was found once quoted “Design is not for philosophy – it’s for life”. I found that this is already a philosophical statement and this can be taken up by many fashion designers.
Before I’ll close this, I have met with someone who actually met with Makiko Minagawa, who was working directly under Issey Miyaki for the HaaT line. I would like to attach her quote as the following.
“I am always a big fan of Issey Miyake. The appreciation has been extended to all his counterparts. In the winter of 2011, I met the woman behind Issey Miyake, the Director of HaaT, Makiko Minagawa, during a school textile art event in Hong Kong, where she was one of the speakers and critiqued design students’ works.
Makiko Minagawa was born in Kyoto, Japan. She graduated from the Kyoto City University of Fine Arts, majoring in textile design and dyeing. During university, she started experimenting with dyeing and weaving techniques in her own atelier. Minagawa joined Miyake Design Studio in 1971 as the Textile Director of Issey Miyake, where she has been focusing on innovative works through research and development. She is keen on Indian traditional craft, leading to a collaborative collection of Asha Sarabhai and Issey Miyake in 1984. In 2000, she launched HaaT, a brand imagined from textiles, under the Issey Miyake Inc and serves as the Director and Textile Designer. Minagawa started teaching as a guest professor in Fabric Dyeing at Tama Art University in 2002. Throughout the years, she has a number of publications and received many important awards, including the Amiko Kujiraoka Prize in 1990, Mainichi Design Prize in 1996 and the Cultural Merit of Kyoto Prefecture in 2007.
Minagawa is a humble and low-key designer. She has been devoting a lot of time on high quality textile development. In her design, material is always the first priority. In a sharing session she made to design students, she explained that the development of a fine piece of textiles in her commercial lines could be as long as 2 years, with different testing on weaving, dyeing, washing and finishing, bringing together broad range of technology and craftsmanship, producing long-lasting fashion with a touch of handcraft tradition. The dedication to preserving Japanese heritage is the DNA of the brand.”