After a lengthy battle with liver cancer, Issey Myake, the legendary Japanese fashion designer, has died at age 84.
Founder of the “Pleats Please” brand, Miyake was a powerhouse designer of the 1980s and beyond, creating timeless designs that wrapped, draped and sometimes stood out against the body in unusual shapes.
Related Articles
He was also part of the Japanese avantgarde group, which included Yohji Yamamoto of Comme des Garcons and Rei Kawakubo from Comme des Garcons. His conceptual designs sometimes resembled art and were able to break into Paris fashion circles during the 1970s and 1980s.
Lifestyle has more lifestyle news and videos
Miyake was born in Hiroshima. He was seven years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.
Issey Myake. Credit: Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via GettyMiyake was reluctant in interviews to talk about his memories of that day, saying he did not want to be the “designer who survived” the bomb.
Three years after Hiroshima’s bomb fell, his mother died from radiation exposure.
“When I close my eyes, I still see things no one should ever experience,” he wrote in The New York Times in 2009.
“I have tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to put them behind me, preferring to think of things that can be created, not destroyed, and that bring beauty and joy.”
Issey Miyake on the runway with models in 1994. Credit: Pool ARNAL/PAT/Gamma-Rapho via Getty ImagesAnd that he did, dressing generations of women who liked to experiment with their clothing, wear colour, and express their individuality through clothing.
His Pleats Please line of items was famous for its ability to keep their shape, no matter how they were folded or crushed. This made them ideal for travel.
His designs were akin to origami’s clothing version, with lots of pleats and folds but still focusing on mobility.
Miyake studied graphic design in Tokyo University, but he moved to fashion design after working first for French designers Guy Laroche or Hubert de Givenchy in Paris.
After that, he moved to New York City and then to Japan where his label was launched.
Dre Rojas can be seen wearing an Issey Miyake Pleats Please Dress in Miami, Florida, 2021.
When his most famous fragrance, L’Eau d’Issey, was launched in 1992, it was rumoured that a bottle of the perfume sold every 14 seconds.
Miyake semi-retired in the late 90s, but his brand lives on today, created by new designers.
Issey MIyake pleated dress Credit: Alexis DuncLOS/Gamma Rapho via Getty Images. The celebrity clients ranged from Steve Jobs, Apple co-founder, CEO and singer, to Grace Jones, Solange knowles, and Lady Gaga.
His clothing is now collected for museum exhibitions and in 2010 he received the Order of Culture for “remarkable accomplishments” in Japanese culture and art.
Fashion enthusiasts flooded social media Tuesday to pay tribute.
“RIP legend,” one person wrote on the brand’s official Instagram page.
“Thank you and respect,” wrote another.
A third said: “Won’t forget my first Issey piece. Rest in peace, and fly high.”
Olivia Newton John talks to 7NEWS about her remarkable life and career.
Olivia Newton John talks to 7NEWS about her remarkable life and career.
The post Groundbreaking Japanese fashion designer dead at 84 first appeared on Raw News.
