Lyrical Life-Wear
A tribute to the designer Issey Miyake
In 1983, Japanese designer Issey Miyake told The New Yorker that he aspired “to forge ahead, to break the mold.” With the boundary-defying fashion lines that followed, he not only broke molds, but recast clothing altogether. With a unique fusion of poetry and practicality, his creations blur the boundaries between tradition, modern technology, and everyday function.
This definitive history of Miyake’s clothes from 1960 to 2022 offers expert insight into the designer’s vision and daring. Initiated and conceived by Midori Kitamura, the book looks at the texture-driven originality of Miyake’s materials and techniques from the very earliest days of his career, before he had even established the Miyake Design Studio. Drawing on nearly 50 years of collaborative work with Miyake, Kitamura creates an encyclopedic reference of his material and technical innovations through the clothes from his A Piece of Cloth concept, Body Series of the 1980s, Miyake Pleats series, and such practical, everyday designs as his Pleats Please pieces.
Stunning photographs capture his clothes in their particular quotidian originality. In her far-reaching essay, meanwhile, leading cultural figure Kazuko Koike offers both a complete chronology of Miyake’s work and an unprecedented personal profile, looking at the ambition and inspirations that drove his repertoire from tender teenage years. A must-have for designers, students, and fashion devotees, this is a timeless tribute to one of the most innovative makers of our age.
The designer
Renowned clothing designer Issey Miyake (1938–2022) studied graphic design at Tama Art University, Tokyo, before founding the Miyake Design Studio in 1970, Miyake’s creative base for all his work. In 2007, Miyake opened the design facility 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT, also in Tokyo.
The editor
Midori Kitamura is chairman of the Miyake Design Studio and the Miyake Issey Foundation, and also president of 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT, working under Issey Miyake to develop collections, exhibitions, products, and publications, including Pleats Please Issey Miyake, also with TASCHEN. Kitamura directed the 2011 exhibition, Irving Penn and Issey Miyake: Visual Dialogue.
Texts by
Kazuko Koike is the founder and director of Sagacho Exhibit Space in Tokyo. She has written and edited many books, including Issey Miyake East Meets West, Japanese Coloring, Japan Design, and Aura of Space. She is an Advisory Board member of MUJI.
