Fashion Designer Profile: Issey Miyake
A wonder of not only the Japanese fashion industry, but the international fashion community as well, Issey Miyake has been designing collections from his own couture house since 1970. A student of designers like Laroche and Givenchy, Issey Miyake has used his various influences, combined them with his ideas for use of fabric and color, and created collections that blend the realms of technology and nature in a quest for simplicity.

Issey Miyake is also a textile genius and the creative mind behind “Pleats Please,” which is a light, permanently pleated fabric and A-POC, which stands for A Piece of Cloth and is clothing created from a single, piece of cloth. It is this very concept that drives the works of Issey Miyake. This is the motivating factor for a couture collection that explores single fabric use with the movement of clothing in relation to the human body. His collections are innovative and technology-based combined with use of nature and emotional inspiration to create a fresh, exciting look. A look that can be defined as both contemporary and futuristic—a look based on a global audience.

Born in Hiroshima, Japan, the works of Issey Miyake have had their biggest impact on the Asian culture. Further, his works have helped him to become one of the first Asian designers to become a global phenomenon. His is part of “big three” Japanese designers, the others being Yohji Yamamoto and Comme des Garcons' Rei Kawakubo. Many of his pieces have been deemed more suitable as pieces of “art” over actual ready to wear garments. However, that has not hindered the popularity of his highly successful couture collections. They are often a combination of fabrics that integrate color, Eastern-inspired fabrics and subtle color.

Miyake studied fashion at Tama Art University in Tokyo and after apprenticeships with Laroche and Givenchy, and a stint working with Geoffrey Beene, he opened the Miyake Design Studio. After his first showing in New York, Miyake’s reputation was established and his career took off from there. Known for a fashion mix of East and West, Issey Miyake is perhaps best known for his work on the infamous “Twelve Black Girls” show, which featured 12 different models in clothing tightly bound to their bodies. Thus, Issey Miyake has proven himself to be a designer that is not afraid to push the boundaries of convention within his collections. Finally, he has taken a mix of cultures and poured that into couture collections that stand the test of time.