Issey Miyake wasn't really a "fashion designer" in the way we usually think of them. Honestly, he hated the term. He preferred being called a maker. To him, the clothes weren't the point; the person inside them was.
Born in Hiroshima in 1938, Miyake carried a weight most of his contemporaries couldn't fathom. He was seven when the bomb dropped. He saw things a child shouldn't see, and for most of his life, he didn't talk about it. He didn't want to be "the designer who survived the atomic bomb." He wanted to create things that were hopeful. Redemptive. Joyful.
The Architecture of the Body
If you look at a piece of Miyake's work, it often looks like nothing until it’s on a human. It's basically flat. Or it's a tube. Then, you step into it, and suddenly it's a sculpture.
Most Western designers work by carving fabric to fit the body. They use darts, seams, and zippers to force the cloth into a 3D shape that mimics the torso. Fashion designer Issey Miyake flipped that script. He looked at the traditional Japanese kimono and saw a better way. Instead of "carving" the fabric, he focused on the ma—the space between the cloth and the skin.
He moved to Paris in 1965. He worked for Guy Laroche and Hubert de Givenchy. He was right there in the middle of the 1968 student protests. While everyone else was arguing about hemlines, Miyake was watching the streets and realizing that the future wasn't in "haute couture" for the rich. It was in clothes for "the many." He wanted to make the equivalent of blue jeans—something universal, functional, and indestructible.
The Secret of the Pleat
Everyone knows the pleats. But most people don't realize how high-tech they actually are.
📖 Related: Is there actually a legal age to stay home alone? What parents need to know
Before Miyake, if you wanted pleated fabric, you pleated the fabric first and then cut the garment. It was a nightmare. The pleats would fall out, or they’d get crushed in the mail. In 1988, Miyake and his team—including the brilliant textile engineer Makiko Minagawa—invented a totally new process.
- They cut and sew the garment first.
- They make it about three times the size it needs to be.
- They sandwich it between two sheets of paper.
- They feed it through a heat press.
The result? Pleats Please. These things are magic. You can roll them into a ball, shove them in a suitcase, machine-wash them, and they never lose their shape. It was a liberation for women who were entering the workforce in the 80s and 90s and didn't have time to iron.
Steve Jobs and the Uniform
You've seen the black turtleneck. It’s the most famous piece of tech-bro "non-fashion" in history.
It started because Steve Jobs visited Sony in Japan and saw the workers wearing cool vests designed by Miyake. He wanted a uniform for Apple. The Apple employees hated the idea, but Jobs and Miyake became friends. Jobs eventually asked for a few black turtlenecks.
Miyake sent him a hundred.
👉 See also: The Long Haired Russian Cat Explained: Why the Siberian is Basically a Living Legend
It wasn't just about looking the same every day. It was about the feel. Those shirts were made of a polyester and cotton blend that felt like a second skin. It was "design as a solution," which is exactly how Jobs viewed computers.
A Piece of Cloth (A-POC)
In 1998, Miyake launched A-POC. It stands for "A Piece of Cloth," but it's also a play on "epoch."
The concept is wild even by today's standards. Imagine a giant industrial knitting machine that spits out a continuous tube of fabric. Inside that tube, the outlines of clothes are already knitted in. You, the customer, take a pair of scissors and cut out your own shirt or dress. No seams. No waste.
It's essentially 3D printing with thread.
By the time he "retired" from the main line in 1999 to focus on research, he had already changed the way the world looked at synthetic materials. He didn't think polyester was "cheap." He thought it was a miracle of modern science that could be manipulated into anything.
✨ Don't miss: Why Every Mom and Daughter Photo You Take Actually Matters
Issey Miyake in 2026: The Legacy Lives On
Issey passed away in 2022, but the Miyake Design Studio is still a powerhouse of innovation. Under Satoshi Kondo, the brand has been leaning into what they call "Being Garments, Being Sentient."
In the Spring/Summer 2026 collection, we saw clothes that seemed to move on their own. They used paper-blend textiles and modular sleeves that could be repositioned. It’s still about that interaction between the person and the cloth.
Why he still matters
We’re currently obsessed with "sustainable fashion." Miyake was doing this forty years ago.
- Minimizing waste: A-POC was designed to use every inch of a thread.
- Longevity: A Pleats Please piece from 1993 looks and wears exactly the same in 2026.
- Inclusivity: Because the pleats stretch, they fit almost any body type. They aren't "size-exclusive."
He proved that you could be avant-garde and practical at the same time. You don't have to suffer for fashion. You can wear a piece of art that is also comfortable enough to nap in.
How to spot "Real" Miyake
If you're hunting for vintage pieces or looking at the new collections, look for these markers:
- The Bounce: Real Pleats Please has a specific weight and "snap" back.
- The Bao Bao Grid: The bags (launched in 2000) use triangular panels that turn a flat surface into a 3D one.
- The Labels: Look for "HaaT" (the craft-focused line) or "Homme Plissé" (the menswear line).
Fashion designer Issey Miyake didn't just give us clothes; he gave us a new way to inhabit our bodies. He took the trauma of his youth and turned it into a lifelong pursuit of "the beauty of the fold."
Actionable Insights for the Modern Wardrobe
- Invest in "Permanent" Pieces: If you’re building a capsule wardrobe, a single pleated top from the Homme Plissé or Pleats Please line replaces five fast-fashion shirts because it never wrinkles and never goes out of style.
- Look Beyond Natural Fibers: Miyake proved that high-quality synthetics (like specially treated polyester) can be more durable and sustainable than poorly made cotton.
- Embrace the Space: When trying on clothes, don't just look at how they "fit" your curves. Look at how they move when you walk. The "ma" (space) is where the style happens.
- Wash with Care: While his pleats are machine-washable, always use a laundry net and cold water. Never, ever iron them—you’ll melt the "memory" of the pleat right out of the fabric.