Issey Miyake, who built one of JapanтАЩs biggest fashion brands and was known for his boldly sculpted pleated pieces as well as former Apple CEO Steve JobsтАЩ black turtlenecks, has died. He was 84. Miyake died August 5 of liver cancer, Miyake Design Office said Tuesday.
Miyake defined an era in JapanтАЩs modern history, reaching stardom in the 1970s among a generation of designers and artists who reached global fame by defining a Japanese vision that was unique from the West.
MiyakeтАЩs origami-like pleats transformed usually crass polyester into chic. He also used computer technology in weaving to create apparel. His down-to-earth clothing was meant to celebrate the human body regardless of race, build, size or age.
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Miyake even detested being called a fashion designer, choosing not to identify with what he saw as a frivolous, trend-watching, conspicuous consumption.
Again and again, Miyake returned to his basic concept of starting with a single piece of cloth тАФ be it draped, folded, cut or wrapped.
Over the years, he took inspiration from a variety of cultures and societal motifs, as well as everyday items тАФ plastic, rattan, тАЬwashiтАЭ paper, jute, horsehair, foil, yarn, batik, indigo dyes and wiring.
He sometimes evoked images of Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, or collaborated with Japanese painter Tadanori Yokoo in images of monkeys and foliage in vibrant, psychedelic hues.
He also collaborated with furniture and interior designer Shiro Kuramata, photographer Irving Penn, choreographer and director Maurice Bejart, pottery maker Lucie Rie and Ballet Frankfurt.
In 1992, Miyake was commissioned to design the official Olympic uniform for Lithuania, which had just gained independence from the Soviet Union.
Born in Hiroshima in 1938, Miyake was a star as soon as he hit the European runways. His brown top, which combined the Japanese sewn fabric тАЬsashikoтАЭ with raw silk knit, was splashed on the cover of the September 1973 issue of Elle magazine.
Miyake was also a pioneer in gender roles, asking feminist Fusae Ichikawa in the 1970s тАФ when she was in her 80s тАФ to be his model, sending the message that garments must be comfortable and express the natural beauty of real people.
Although he made clothes that went beyond the mundane, appearing to reach for the spiritual, he made a point to never get pretentious, always approving of the T-shirt-and-jeans look.
тАЬDesigning is like a living organism in that it pursues what matters for its well-being and continuity,тАЭ Miyake once wrote in his book.
His office confirmed a private funeral had already been held and other ceremonies will not be held in accordance with Miyake’s wishes. Miyake kept his family life private, and survivors are not known.
This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.
