In memory of the great Issey Miyake – Moskovskaya Pravda

Issey Miyake, the greatest fashion designer of our time, passed away yesterday at the age of 85. His unprecedented 55-year career was cut short by liver cancer, and as a young boy, at the age of only seven, Issei witnessed the nuclear bombing of his hometown of Hiroshima. His mother died just three years later from the effects of radiation, but Issei, to the delight of many fans of his work, survived, although he limped all his life due to injuries. “Perhaps I chose the profession of a fashion designer precisely in order to forget about that terrible day, because designing clothes means bringing joy to people and making them happy,” the designer later recalls.

Issey Miyake graduated from the Tokyo Institute of Art in 1964 with a degree in graphic design. Then he trained in the fashion houses of Paris: Guy Laroche and Givenchy, as well as in New York’s Geoffrey Beene. After that, he immediately founded his own design studio in Japan to create clothing models from fabrics he designed himself. This practice for the US and Europe was revolutionary new. But already in 1970, he presented his first women’s collection in New York. And since 1973 he began to present his collections in Paris on an ongoing basis. A year later, a personalized Issey Miyake boutique appeared in Tokyo, and since 1975 in Paris. In 1976, the designer began to create men’s collections. Just two years later, a book was published called Issey Miyake: East Meets West (Issey Miyake: East meets West), which became the first ever monograph released during the life of the designer.

If stripes are considered Jean Paul Gaultier’s signature style, then Issey Miyake’s are folds. After all, the famous Japanese artist gave them a new meaning. In the early 90s, the fashion designer, using processed polyester, created clothes with zigzag vertical folds that did not lose their shape even after long wear and machine washing. Many fashionistas know that Issey Miyake clothing models have unique architectural forms, however, few people know that Steve Jobs himself became one of the famous Japanese clients. The designer provided him with hundreds of black turtlenecks, which the Apple founder liked to pair with jeans. The novelty was distinguished by an overestimated shoulder line and an elegant silhouette. In the 2000s, a bag appeared, covered with a mosaic of triangular PVC panels. The Bao Bao model is still in high demand and adorns the talented Japanese boutiques all over the world.

Nevertheless, the main achievements of Issey Miyake are three-dimensional clothing without seams made of fabric with a metallic coating, which gives it a special plasticity and weightlessness. And my favorite perfume with a stunning fresh scent. Everyone has their own Issey Miyake, as is the case with real talent.

Anna Subbotina

Photos from social networks