You might find it strange for me to talk about a fashion designer. With a western concept, I see art as an excellency in a particular area in which boundless creativity and/or superb skills are manifested such as culinary art, floral art, landscape art, even art de vivre (art of living). Friedrich Nietzsche considered art as ‘the highest form of self-expression’. Self-expression I think is an original language of communication. It came with no surprise that Issey Miyake’s works were included in a contemporary art exhibition with other artists in Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam during 1990s.
Back then, during my art student life in France, the biggest privilege offered by my student card was no queue and no fees for museum visits. Other than my favorite Parisian museums such as Centre de Pompidou, Musée d’Orsay and Musée d’art moderne de Paris, I loved visiting Van Gogh Museum and its neighboring Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. Both of them are not overwhelmingly big, possible to complete both in a day and hold excellent exhibitions. During one visit to the latter, I saw Pleats Please works of Issey Miyake. I was struck by the extreme simplicity in their form, presented flat like big pieces of paper, simplist yet embedded with a very beautiful idea to enhance wearers’ movement with ease and fluidity.
Issey Miyake, b.1938- d.2022, born in Hiroshima, witnessed the atomic bomb attack and its aftermath. He loved dancing at young age, later developed interest in fashion, studied graphic design in Tama Art University, Tokyo. No wonder, he was absorbed in the idea of movement and created graphically colorful works and propellingly attractive visuals. After graduation, he joined a fashion design competition without winning. He realized his lack of technical skills and departed to study in Chambre syndicale de la couture parisienne, Paris, being an apprentice to Guy Laroche and Hubert de Givenchy, making 50-100 sketches daily. Persisting in learning, he went to New York City in 1969, studied English, met artist friends like Christo and Robert Rauschenberg and worked under Geoffrey Beene. In 1970, he returned to homeland and founded the Miyake Design Studio in Tokyo.
He did research on pleating (garments cut and sewn with layers of paper, then under heat press to create ‘fabric’s memory’ ) and sent hundreds of his garments to dancers in order to have their comments. He employed dancers to be his models to articulate and exemplify flexibility and elegancy of his fabric and designs. An engineered mind combined with artistic spirit bred numerous stunning fashion works! I am very impressed by his ability to focus on a single material incessantly redefined by its construction over decades. Issey Miyake is a true legend and has earned my whole-hearted respect and admiration ever, FOREVER!
PS. Steve Jobs’ signature black turtlenecks were designed by his friend Issey Miyake. Look at their story! It’s quite fun!
