Japanese designer Issey Miyake died on Friday, August 5 at the age of 84 from liver cancer, the Japanese news agency Kyodo announced.
The creator founded his design studio in the 70s and, ten years later, the Miyake Design Studio house was already a reference in the world of fashion. He was one of the first Japanese creators to present his work in Paris, having been one of those responsible for putting Japanese fashion on the world map.
Miyake leaves behind a great legacy. At the forefront of technological advances and known for practical and innovative proposals, in his work he also highlighted the use of artisanal methods, with techniques influenced by the universe of plastic arts. In the late 1980s, he created a new way of pleating fabric, wrapping it between layers of paper and placing it in a heat press. Tested by dancers and confirmed freedom of movement, the iconic line folds pleaseshowing his work with pleated fabrics, one of his most important brands.
Issey Miyakei during Paris Fashion Week, 1993. PL Gould/Images/Getty Images
In 1998, it launched the flagship A-POC (a piece of cloth), a line that reflected the creator’s search for design solutions that also responded to the habits of everyday life. The ability to create something that would work “in real life”, that would work for everyday tasks, was essential for the designer.
Also known for creating the black turtleneck, worn by Apple founder Steve Jobs, with whom he was a friend, Issey Miyake also launched a series of well-known perfumes, having debuted in this field with the iconic L’Eau d Issey.
In a statement, his studio recalls the creator’s irreverence, curiosity and craftsmanship: “Never embracing trends, Miyake’s dynamic spirit was driven by relentless curiosity and the desire to convey joy through design. Always a pioneer, Miyake embraced traditional craftsmanship, but also looked for the next solution: the newest technology driven by research and development.”
“He never walked away from love, from the process of doing things. He continued to work with his teams, creating new designs and overseeing all the collections under the various Issey Miyake brands. Her spirit of joy, empowerment and beauty will carry on for generations to come.”
Issey Miyake in a gallery in Soho, New York, 1994. Rose Hartman/Getty Images
Miayke was born in April 1938 in Hiroshima. He was seven years old when the atomic bomb hit this Japanese city, he was in the classroom. For many years he did not want to talk about the event. Later, referring to an article published in the American The New York Times, he explained that he did not want to be labeled as the “designer who survived”. “When I close my eyes, I still see things that no one should experience,” he wrote. He lost her mother three years after the tragedy, a victim of radiation.
He started out wanting to be a dancer or an athlete, but he fell in love with this other universe after he started reading his sister’s fashion magazines. He studied graphic design at an art university in Tokyo, specializing in fashion design in Paris, where he worked with Guy Laroche and Hubert de Givenchy. After passing through New York, he returns to Tokyo and the Miyake Design Studio is born.
In 1997 he retired from fashion design, although all the creations of the Miyake Design Studio house were supervised by him.
Source: Observadora
