Issey Miyake, the Japanese designer famed for his pleated style of clothing and cult perfumes, and whose name became a global byword for cutting-edge fashion in the 1980s, died on Friday in Tokyo. He was 84.
Miyake is perhaps best known for his micro pleating, which he first unveiled in 1988 but has lately enjoyed a surge in popularity among a new and younger consumer base. He also produced the black turtleneck that became part of the signature look of Steve Jobs, the Apple co-founder.
Miyake’s designs appeared everywhere from factory floors — he designed a uniform for workers at the Japanese electronics giant Sony — to dance floors. His insistence that clothing was a form of design was considered avant-garde in the early years of his career, and he had notable collaborations with photographers and architects. His designs found their way onto the 1982 cover of Artforum — unheard-of for a fashion designer at the time — and into the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Miyake was feted in Japan for creating a global brand that contributed to the country’s efforts to build itself into an international destination for fashion and pop culture. In 2010, he received the Order of Culture, the country’s highest honor for the arts.
“I am most interested in people and the human form,” Miyake told The Times in 2014. “Clothing is the closest thing to all humans.”
Head to the link in bio to read the obituary. Photos by Pierre Guillaud/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images; Christophe Archambault/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images; Bertrand Guay/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images; Francois Guillot/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images; @nowfashion.
