TOKYO (AP) — Issey Miyake, who built one of Japan’s biggest fashion brands and was known for his boldly sculpted pleat pieces and former Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ black turtleneck, has died. he was 84 years old.
look: Fast fashion costs fuel thrift store growth
Miyake died of liver cancer on August 5, the Miyake Design Office announced Tuesday.
Defining an era in Japan’s modern history, Miyake rose to stardom in a generation of designers and artists who gained worldwide fame in the 1970s for defining a uniquely Western vision of Japan. I climbed up.
Miyake’s origami-like pleats turned the normally humble polyester into chic. His modest attire was meant to celebrate the human body, regardless of race, build, size, or age.
Miyake detested even being called a fashion designer, choosing not to identify with what he saw as frivolous, trend-watching conspicuous consumption.
Again and again, Miyake returned to his basic concept of starting with a single piece of cloth.
Over the years, he has drawn inspiration from a variety of cultural and social motifs and everyday items such as plastic, rattan, ‘washi’, jute, horsehair, foil, thread, batik, indigo and wire. I was.
He occasionally evoked images of Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, and collaborated with Japanese painter Tadanori Yokoo to paint images of monkeys and leaves in vibrant, psychedelic hues.
He has also collaborated with furniture and interior designer Shiro Kuramata, photographer Irving Penn, choreographer and director Maurice Béjart, ceramist Lucy Lee and Ballet Frankfurt.
In 1992, Miyake was commissioned to design the official Olympic uniforms for Lithuania, which had just gained independence from the Soviet Union.
Born in Hiroshima in 1938, Miyake became a star as soon as he hit the runways of Europe. His brown top, which combines Japanese sewing fabric ‘sashiko’ and raw silk knit, graced the cover of Elle magazine’s September 1973 issue.
Miyake was also a pioneer of gender roles, commissioning feminist Fusae Ichikawa as a model in the 1970s (80s) to send the message that clothing should be comfortable and represent the natural beauty of real people. I was.
He created clothing that seemed to reach for the spiritual, beyond the mundane, but always approved of the t-shirt and jeans look, never pretentious.
“Design is like a living creature in that it pursues what is important to its well-being and continuity,” Miyake once wrote in his book.
His office has confirmed that a private funeral has already taken place and that no other ceremonies will take place per Miyake’s wishes. .
